Annual Conference
IBL 2027 Annual Conference
Waters of Black Life
The 2027 USF Institute on Black Life Annual Conference will be held at the USF St. Pete Campus on February 2, 2027. Our theme “Waters of Black Life” takes advantage of the location to explore topics from natural disasters and displacement to public health, environmental justice, and even the joyful ways Black communities engage with water. The program features national and local keynote speakers, panels with members of the Tampa Bay community who represent our complex relationship with water. We welcome submissions to our Call of Proposals that will be available in September.
Call for Proposal
The USF Institute on Black Life (IBL) invites proposals for the 2027 Annual Conference. Our theme, “Waters of Black Life,” explores how water shapes Black experiences both through struggle and survival, displacement and renewal, conflict and culture. We seek to host conversations on environmental justice, climate resilience, natural disasters, public health, arts and storytelling, and the joy of aquatic recreation and exploration, among other topics related to water.
We welcome submissions from students, scholars, artists, community leaders, organizers, and practitioners whose work engages with the political, cultural, ecological, religious, and emotional dimensions of water in Black communities. This conference creates space for dialogue centered on scholarship and community that sparks our collective imagination for strengthening our relationships with water. In addition, we welcome all undergraduate student research aligned with the broader mission of IBL to study Black life to foster understanding and appreciation of African and the African diaspora.
KEYNOTE SPEAKER
Dr. Lori Peek
Director of the Natural Hazards Center
Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder
Dr. Lori Peek is Director of the Natural Hazards Center and Professor of Sociology at the University of Colorado Boulder. Her research examines how natural hazards and extreme events disproportionately affect socially marginalized communities, with particular attention to children, families, and underserved populations. Through her leadership of the Natural Hazards Center and the NSF-funded CONVERGE initiative, Dr. Peek has helped shape interdisciplinary disaster research, advance ethical and equitable research practices, and strengthen community resilience efforts across the United States.
Dr. Peek is the author or co-author of several influential books, including The Continuing Storm: Learning from Katrina (2022) and Children of Katrina (2015). Her recent scholarship has addressed topics such as equity-focused disaster risk management, inclusive emergency communication systems, earthquake early warning for schools, disaster research methods, and public health preparedness. In 2021, she was nominated by President Biden and confirmed by the U.S. Senate to serve on the Board of the National Institute of Building Sciences. She has also testified before the United States Congress on equity in disaster preparedness, response, and recovery.
CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS
This event is organized by the Institute on Black Life at the University of South Florida. Private funds from the Racial Justice Initiative fund this event.