Upcoming & Past Events
LUNAR NEW YEAR HAPPY HOUR!
Join us for an informal happy hour to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit, co-hosted by Young China Watchers, LACHINET, Black China Caucus, and NuVoices. Anyone interested in China is welcome to attend!
We look forward to seeing old friends and new faces!
The event will take place:
Thursday, January 19, 2023
Africa’s Relationship with China: Where are we Now?
Africa is a vibrant, rich, and diverse continent with fifty-four countries. China’s relationship with many of these African nations are more intertwined than ever. China stands as the single largest trading partner of the continent. It serves as a major lender for many African countries. Since the launch of the Belt and Road Initiative, China has sent tens of thousands of Chinese citizens to African countries. China also maintains a growing military presence in the region and plays a key role in bolstering African countries’ domestic and international security and surveillance apparatus. Numerous African students and professionals immigrate to China for study and/or work.
Yet, despite these numerous linkages, China’s presence in the region is not without contraversery and criticism, including reports of racism and discrimination, issues of predatory lending practices, corruption and illicit finance, and observations of how China’s relationship with many African countries risks exploiting people’s livelihoods as well as constricting political expression.
The event will take place:
Tuesday, September 13, 2022 at 7:00 pm ET via Zoom
The event features:
Dr. Anita Plummer, Assistant Professor, Howard University
Buleani Jili, PhD Candidate, Harvard University
Oyintarelado Moses, Data Analyst, Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center
Paul Nantulya, Research ASsociate, Africa Center for Strategic Studies
Titilayo Ogundele, BCC Communications Director, Moderator
BCC ECOsystem: Public Speaking 101
ECOsystem: A professional development series for Black China Specialists aims to provide professional development opportunities to Black professionals within a China-related discipline in order to rectify underrepresentation and exclusion. The acronym “ECO” in ECOsystem refers to “Exposure,” “Confidence,” and “Opportunity.”
As part of the ECOsystem series, BCC will host another upskilling event titled, “BCC ECOsystems: An Introduction to Public Speaking.” In particular, this event will focus on introducing BCC members to speaking with presence, briefing senior leadership, preparing and delivering a client pitch, engaging your virtual audience, overcoming speaking anxiety, and more! Because, let’s face it – public speaking can be scary! But join us as we learn its fundamentals!
The event will take place:
Thursday, August 4, 2022 at 6:00 pm — 7:00 pm ET via Zoom
The upskilling workshop will be led by: Sarah Gershman, Executive Speech Coach and Presentation Skills Trainer, Greenroom Speakers
BCC ECOsystem: Speechwriting 101
ECOsystem: A professional development series for Black China Specialists aims to provide professional development opportunities to Black professionals within a China-related discipline in order to rectify underrepresentation and exclusion. The acronym “ECO” in ECOsystem refers to “Exposure,” “Confidence,” and “Opportunity.”
As part of the ECOsystem series, on Tuesday, July 12 , 2022, BCC will launch an upskilling event entitled, “BCC ECOsystems: An Introduction to Speechwriting,” which will explore what makes a speech sing — and what makes one fall flat? And how do we make sure we're only writing the first kind? That's what we'll get to bottom of during this workshop. We will cover the basics of speechwriting, from voice and audience to research and structure, along with other crucial techniques.
You'll walk away armed with not only an understanding of what goes into a good speech, but the confidence and know-how to write one of your own. Does this help at all? Generally, I'm planning to cover voice (and getting a handle on your principal's voice), the elements of a good speech (Ethos/Logos/Pathos, storytelling/anecdotes & facts, and simple prose), tailoring a speech to your audience, and how to do research for a speech (spoiler: it's a lot like being a detective), and structure!
The event will take place:
Tuesday, July 12, 2022 at 6:00 pm — 7:00 pm ET via Zoom
The upskilling workshop will be led by: Mallika Machra, Speechwriter, Fenway Strategies
Fireside Chat Featuring Dr. Carolyn T. Brown
Join the Black China Caucus for a virtual fireside chat featuring Dr. Carolyn T. Brown, a scholar on Chinese literature and psychology.
Throughout her extensive career, her professional writings have examined the interrelationship between literature, culture, and psychology with particular attention to modern Chinese literature. She is the author of Reading Lu Xun through Carl Jung, a book on spiritual healing in the short stories of 20th Century China's most famous writer.
This event will discuss her personal experiences as a Black China scholar prior to the normalization of US-China relations, a time where access to the study of China was limited. She will recount her personal experiences of learning the language and studying Chinese literature. She will discuss her work in Chinese studies in the post-Mao era in the 1980s and the many challenges and unique experiences of being Black in China studies.
The event will take place:
Tuesday, May 31, 2022 at 7:00 pm — 8:00 pm EST via Zoom
The event will be hosted by: Dr. Keisha Brown, Assistant Professor of History, Tennessee State University
The New Age of China Experts: What it means to be a China Expert in 2022
Come join both Black China Caucus and the U.S.-China Business Council (USBC) for a discussion on what it means to be a China expert in 2022 in the midst of COVID-19 and increasingly tense US-China Relations. The event will open with remarks by USCBC President Craig Allen, followed by a panel discussion of USCBC staff and Black China Caucus members as well as audience Q&A.
The event will take place:
Monday, February 7, from 7:30 – 8:30 pm ET via Zoom.
The event features:
Lance Yau, USBC, Manager of Business Advisory Services
Jack Kamensky, USBC, Senior Directory, Business Advisory Services
Hannah Feldshuh, USBC, Manager of Business, Advisory Services
Lorena James, BCC Member, Schwarzman SCholar at Tsinghua University
Greyson Mann, BCC Member, Masters Candidate at Middlebury Institute of International Studies
The State of Racial Discouse in China
Join the Black China Caucus and the National Association for Black Engagement in Asia (NABEA) on Tuesday, June 8, 2021 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm EST for a panel discussion assessing the mainstream understanding of race and racial identity within China and reflecting on how the gaps between American and Chinese perceptions of these issues may continue to impact how Beijing is viewed abroad.
The event features:
Tabatha Anderson, Research Assistant, International Institute for Strategic Studies
Leland Lazarus, Speechwriter, U.S. Southern Command
Leslie Nguyen-Okwu, Asia Correspondent, Quartz
Alex Foote, Sustainability Associate Analyst, PepsiCo
This is the final session in a three-part series titled, the Black American Identity in Mainland China. It is hosted by BCC and NABEA.
Black Identity in the Context of Chinese History
Join the Black China Caucus and the National Association for Black Engagement in Asia (NABEA) on Thursday, April 8, 2021 at 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm EST for a panel discussion exploring how China's culture and history relate to Black identity and the broader understanding of race, as well how being in China influences one's own view of their Black identity.
The event features:
Kori Cooper, J.D. Candidate, Columbia Law School
Amani Core, China Intern, Albright Stonebridge Group
Aisha Udochi, Ph.D. Candidate, Economics, Howard University
This is the second session in a three-part series titled, the Black American Identity in Mainland China. It is hosted by the Black China Caucus, NABEA, and supported by Spill Stories.
Thriving While Black In China
Join the Black China Caucus and the National Association for Black Engagement in Asia (NABEA) on Monday, February 22, 2021 at 7:00 PM ET - 8:00 PM ET for a panel discussion on the intersection of race and China!
Thriving While Black in China will address how Chinese society defines racial identity and how one engages with others who are not accustomed to seeing Black Americans in China and do not understand Black American history. Additionally, it will expolore how several Black Americans found themselves working and living in China and provide examples on how history has shaped Chinese society’s response to Black Americans today.
The event features:
TØNΞ TWISTED, an artist and creative
N. Rashad Jones, a U.S. Foreign Service Officer
Shirley Martey Hargis, the Deputy Program Manager, China Technology Transfer and Emerging Technologies at CRDF Global /Senior Advisor China, the Oxford Diplomatic Society
This is the first session in a three-part series titled, The Black American Identity in Mainland China. It is hosted by the Black China Caucus, NABEA, and supported by Spill Stories.
Black China Trailblazers
This Digital Dialogue is a Black History Month event jointly hosted by the Association for Asian Studies and Black China Caucus. Entitled “Black China Trailblazers,” this moment of collective reflection and analysis will engage with the contributions of Black individuals to the China space.
The discussion will be led by Dr. Keisha Brown, assistant professor of history at Tennessee State University; Mycal Ford; a China analyst focused on international illicit finance and tools of economic statecraft; and Mark Akpaninyie a researcher currently studying China’s Belt and Road Initiative. The discussion will be moderated by Avonda Fogan, an education policy and public affairs professional.
Virtual Speed Networking Event
Join us on Thursday, January 21, 2021 at 6:30 pm EST for a casual (wear comfortable clothes!) networking event!
We will start the evening with a brief introduction of the Black China Caucus and then seperate into small groups to get to know each other! Everyone may not have a chance to meet one another but we will have more networking events like this in the future!