After nearly five years, CIC’s Legacies of American Slavery: Reckoning with the Past initiative will culminate with a national conference on September 19–21, 2024, in Memphis, Tennessee. The Legacies initiative was designed to help independent colleges, their students, and their communities reckon with the history, afterlives, and continuing effects of American slavery. The conference is an opportunity to reflect on that important work, to celebrate the achievements of the seven CIC member institutions that have served as the backbone of a growing national network, and to explore the still unfinished work that independent colleges must do reckon with and repair the legacies of slavery.

The conference will meet in a sacred space resonant with the legacies of American slavery: the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, where Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968. By intention, the conference will be a relatively small gathering to encourage thoughtful conversation and realistic planning for the continuation of the Legacies project’s work through some new structure(s). Participation is by invitation only, though some sessions will also be livestreamed to a national audience. Invited participants will receive complimentary rooms in a nearby hotel, most meals during the conference, and travel support. There is a registration link at the bottom of this page for invited participants. Please contact LegaciesProject@cic.edu for more details about logistics.

The in-person conference is by invitation only. However, three of the most exciting sessions will be streamed live. There is no cost to participate; you can register for one, two, or three of the sessions; but you must register in advance by 9/19: https://legaciesofslavery.net/virtual-conference-2024/