Symposium Schedule

Ohio Wesleyan's 2025 symposium features an exploration of Black arts and culture highlighted by a conversation with acclaimed actress and activist Erika Alexander.

2025 Melvin Van Peebles Symposium
March 27-29, 2025

All locations are subject to change. Tickets are needed unless otherwise noted.
Please see our Symposium Presenters page for bio information.

Thursday, March 27

• 2-3:30 p.m. – On-Site Registration and Check-In | Hamilton-Williams Campus Center (HWCC), Outside the Benes Rooms
• 3-5 p.m. – Opening Session | Line dancing with Ohio Wesleyan students Ella Lazare '27 and Jalani Ball '27 | HWCC Benes Rooms
• 5:30-7 p.m. – Opening Reception with brief remarks and a tasting menu created by Chef Bryant Terry. A selection of his books will be available for sale during the reception. | Richard M. Ross Art Museum

Friday, March 28

• 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. – On-Site Registration and Check-In | HWCC (Outside the Benes Rooms)
• 8:45-9:45 a.m. – Concurrent Session I | HWCC Benes Rooms
  • A Slow Burn: Negotiating Black Art in a White Academic Setting
    Presenters: Crystal Clark, Allen S. Coleman, and Robyn Lyons-Robinson
• 9:55-10:55 a.m. – Concurrent Session II
  • Panel: Dance Focus | HWCC
    • Overlapping Pulse: Black Expression in Dance Performance
      Presenter: Jalen E. Rose| HWCC 312
    • Zora and Janie of Eatonville | HWCC 304
      Presenter: Margaret Cox
    • Melvin Van Peebles: Keep on Keepin' on | HWCC Crider Lounge (Second floor)
      Presenter: Kathryn Weill
• 11-12:15 p.m. – Theatre Session I
  • Scenes from Cane: A New Musical (In Progress) | Chappelear Drama Center (Studio Theatre)
    Presenter: Brian Granger
• 12:30-1:45 p.m. – Symposium Welcome and Lunch with Ohio Wesleyan President Matt vandenBerg | HWCC Benes Rooms
• 1:45-2:30 p.m. – Concurrent Session III
  • Visualizing Jazz: From Sound to Screen | HWCC 312
    Presenter: Stephanie Matthews
  • Panel: Film Focus | HWCC 304
    • Unity is the Solution: 1970s Black Film
      Presenter: Eli Boonin-Vail
    • Memeing a Ma: A Racist Trope
      Presenter: J. Brendan Shaw
    • Lovecraft Country and the Metaphysics of Fire
      Presenter: Anwar Uhuru
  • Art Songs and Spirituals: Expressions of African American Cultures | HWCC Crider Lounge (Second floor)
    Presenter: Rosetta Dingle
• 2:45-4 p.m. – Caribbean Transformers: Becoming and Being in the New World | Ross Art Museum
  Presenter: Alicia Brown
• 4:15-6 p.m. – Theatre Session II
  • The Voice of Freedom | Chappelear Drama Center (Studio Theatre)
    Presenters: Ashley Brooks Wise, Destiny Coleman, Kenneth Eaddy, Karolyn Lee Gholston, Tifani K, DeMeeshia Marshall
  • Polyrhythmic Life: AFRICA IN AMERICA | Merrick 301
    Presenter: Kara Mack
• 6:15-7:30 p.m. – Dinner (Fork in Nigeria food truck) | JAYwalk outside HWCC. Those without tickets are invited to purchase food from this acclaimed Columbus restaurant.
• 7-8:40 p.m. – American Fiction movie screening featuring Erika Alexander | HWCC Benes Rooms. This event is free and open to everyone, no ticket needed.

Saturday, March 29

• 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. – On-Site Registration and Check-In | HWCC (Outside the Benes Rooms)
• 8:45-10 a.m. – Concurrent Session IV
  • Camp Delaware – The Story of the 5th USCT | HWCC 304
    Presenters: Mark Butler and Francine Butler
  • Behind His Eyes: A Journey Through Vulnerability & Identity | HWCC 312
    Presenter: Jadyn Wilson
  • Unspoken Colorlines | HWCC Crider Lounge (Second floor)
    Presenter: Krisilyn "Tony" Frazier
• 10:10-11 a.m. – TV Screening – Living Single episodes | HWCC Benes Rooms
• 11:10-12:30 p.m. – Panel: Black Art in America: Arts and Cultural Policies from Reconstruction to Afrofuturism | HWCC Benes Rooms
  • Critical Afro-Nostalgia
    Presenter: Terron Banner
  • Brilliant Homage & Resilience
    Presenter: Arris Cohen
  • Love Jones and the Afrocentric Movement
    Presenter: Iyana Hill
  • The Revolutionary Black Gaze
    Presenter: Ekundayo Igeleke
  • Black World-Making: Heritage & Roots
    Presenter: Monte Murphy
  • Black Inheritance: Love, Liberty, and Identity
    Presenter: Sydney Summey
• 12:30-1:30 p.m. – Lunch (On Your Own) | Downtown Delaware
• 1:30-2:30 p.m. – Visual artist Lance Johnson featuring dancer Candice Flows | The Back Porch (Outdoors, adjacent to Elliott Hall) This event is free and open to everyone, no ticket needed.
• 2:45-4 p.m. – Theatre Session III | Chappelear Drama Center (Studio Theatre)
  • Unknown
    Presenters: Annette Grevious and Claflin University Theatre Ensemble
• 4:30-5:30 p.m. – VIP Cocktail Hour – Erika Alexander | Ross Art Museum (*Separate VIP ticket required*)
• 5:45-8 p.m. – Keynote Banquet – A Conversation with Erika Alexander | HWCC Benes Rooms 
• Art Installation – Art will be accessible throughout the symposium
  • The Chaotic Musings of a Caribbean Immigrant
    Artist: Hasani Claxton | HWCC Benes Rooms