MyNDTALK - Dr. Ron Daniels, Institute of the Black World

Dr. Ron Daniels, Institute of the Black World

Building on his earlier work with the National State of the Race Conferences of 1994 and 1997 and the creation of AAIFRE, in 2001 Dr. Daniels was the architect and Convener of the State of the Black World Conference (SOBWC) which drew some 2,500 to Atlanta from communities of African descent from around the world. The Atlanta Declaration issued at the conference called for the establishment of an Institute of the Black World to promote research, relevant publications, leadership training and development, community organizing/skill development training and communications/information sharing and networking. As an outgrowth of SOBWC, the Institute of the Black World 21st Century (IBW) was launched in April of 2002. IBW convened the Second State of the Black World Conference in New Orleans in 2008. Dr. Daniels envisions IBW emerging as a critical engine for empowerment of people of African descent and the oppressed in the 21st century and is devoting most of his energy to achieving that goal in what he describes as the “autumn” of his advocacy as a scholar/activist." This conversation is a must-listen for everyone interested in the past-present-future of The Black World.