ASCAC Midwest Region 2026 Conference

In the Midst of Brokenness: Re-establishing Maat In his 1973 book, From Plan to Planet, Haki Madhubuti, declared, “Europeans are committed to maintaining their control over the world…. if the choice was to lose it or destroy it, destruction would be forthcoming.” We arrive at the undeniable manifestation of such an ambition as the European world creates and sustains chaos in the African world, while creating conditions of misery and suffering globally. This includes destabilizing African communities in the US and Haiti, impoverishing the people of the Congo through a brutal campaign of resource extraction, effecting the displacement of African/Black people in Honduras and along Colombia’s Pacific coast, and the general suppression of African self-determination the world over. Herein, a key task faces the African world: The restoration of Maat as a means of both restoring ourselves and re-establishing harmony in the world. Herein, Maat is conceived as both a paradigm and practice, a way of understanding our ancestors’ view of order from the cosmic and ecological to the social and personal, as well as a mode of practice determined to establish such a condition and to negate those forces antithetical to it in the world. For this year’s conference, we invite proposals that explore the current crises facing African people worldwide and how Maat offers a means whereby we can both right ourselves and the world around us. We ask that prospective presenters consider the imperative of us formulating our own notions of futurity, that is, ways of thinking about and imagining the future that are rooted in the image, interests, worldview, and collective destiny of African people. Finally, we insist that we strive to conceive of an African world that is capable of overcoming the forces of Isft, and to offer insights and ideas whereby this reality might be ushered into being. This year’s conference will be in a hybrid format. In-person attendees will convene in Saint Louis, MO and virtually via Zoom.