2k27 Black Power Writing Prompt

OVERVIEW:

At the Chairs Retreat that took place August 10-12, 2018, the Afrikan Black Coalition Central Committee, comprised of all member-campus Presidents, unanimously decided to have a reading and response requirement for all Afrikan Black Coalition Conference attendees that year and in the future. The goal is to ensure all attendees of the conference have a foundational understanding of at least one aspect of Afrikan/Black politics. When we convene 800+ Afrikan/Black people annually, this foundational political education helps to ensure that we are productive in our engagement with all components of the conference, have a good time building community with one another.

 

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Deadline: Friday - December 11, 2026 at 11:59 PM (PST)

  • Saving Document: Save your document as your first name, last name, underscore, and the initials of your school (only include your school’s initials if you currently attend a college)

    • Example: 

      • Student Name: Ella Baker

      • School: Cal State Los Angeles

      • Document Saved As: ELLABAKER_CSULA

  • Submission: Upload and submit this document via the Black Power Writing Prompt Online Submission Form (*Must sign-in to a GMAIL account in order to access the submission form*)

  • IMPORTANT: Failure to follow these formatting directions can impact your ability to attend the conference. These important steps allow for the 800+ submissions to be reviewed and entered into our database without any complications. If you have questions, email us: politicaleducation@ablackcoalition.org 

  • The submission format can be viewed here.

  • All submissions must be the original work of the submitter. Plagiarism is unacceptable.

  • Every submission will be read in its entirety, so please do not attempt to cheat the system and use someone else’s work.

WRITING PROMPT (PARTS 1-3):

Part 1: Required Length - 50-100 Words

  • This year’s conference theme is Dismantle the Master’s House: From Black Excellence to Black Liberation. In 50-100 words, explain what this year’s conference theme means to you.

 

Part 2: Critical Topic Response - Answer All Questions for One Topic in Complete Sentences

  • DIRECTIONS: Select one of the topics below, read the assigned article, and answer ALL Reflection questions iN COMPLETE SENTENCES.

  • Topic 1: Black Misleadership Class

    • Article: Socialist Alternative Black Caucus. (2022, April 1). The Role of Black Misleadership Today. Socialist Alternative. https://www.socialistalternative.org/2022/04/01/the-role-of-black-misleadership-today

    • Reflection Questions:

      • According to the article, who is the Black misleadership class composed of?

      • According to the article, on the heels of the Civil Rights Movement and assassinations of the Black revolutionaries, what did these reformist civic and political leaders forsook? 

      • According to the article, how did Black civil rights organizations change? 

      • According to the article, this new Black middle class leadership was not interested in what kind of politics? What do these kinds of politics do and democratize? 

      • How does the article discuss the relationship between Black misleadership, representation, and power? 

      • Post-2020, what did the Democratic Party leadership oversee?

      • According to the article, Black misleaders like Harrell, Lightfoot, and Adams represent a neoliberal agenda that targets working-class communities through what means?

      • How does the article discuss the relationship between the Black misleadership class and liberatory ideas and movements?

      • According to the article, what should people seeking meaningful change do instead of relying on Democrats and the political establishment?

  • Topic 2: Data Centers & Black Displacement

    • Article: Bronner, W. (2026, August 19). North Nashville’s Reckoning: The Fight for Sovereignty in the Shadow of a Data Center. Black Agenda Report.https://www.blackagendareport.com/north-nashvilles-reckoning-fight-sovereignty-shadow-data-center

    • Reflection Questions:

      • What is the main issue being discussed in the article?

      • According to Bronner, what are the four kinds of impacts North Nashvillians have seen data centers have?

      • According to Bronner, the construction of the data center is not an isolated incident and represents the systemic denial of North Nashville’s what? 

      • According to Bronner, the construction of data centers across the U.S. represents what kind of merger? 

      • How does Bronner explain the relationship between the construction of the I-40 and the Nashville data center? 

      • According to Bronner, what are the intended benefits as well as the well-documented drawbacks of the “Quantum Leap”?

      • According to Bronner, what has Fisk University’s secrecy concerning the data center done?

      • According to Bronner, Fisk University is led by which Black class? How does Bronner define this class?

      • According to Bronner, what does the concern about animals compared to human communities reveal? 

      • How does Bronner compare Fisk University and Vanderbilt University? Why does he argue that Fisk has fewer choices than Vanderbilt when it comes to the data center?

    Topic 3: Anti-Blackness & Immigration

    • Article: Bethune, N. (2025, December 12). The Vulnerability of Black Immigrants. The American Prospect. https://prospect.org/2025/12/12/vulnerability-of-black-immigrants

    • Reflection Questions:

      • What is the main argument of this article?

      • According to Bethune, what two key issues remain largely unrecognized?

      • According to Bethune, Black people in the U.S. make up what percentage of the undocumented population? Comparatively, Black people make up what percentage of the immigrants facing removal based on criminal convictions population? 

      • According to Bethune, what percentage of Black immigrants are deported due to contact with the police? What do these rates mirror?

      • Black immigrants remain constrained by what, according to Bethune? 

      • How many Black noncitizens live in the U.S. and what percentage of the Black population do they make up? Where do they come from?

      • According to Bethune, which 1790 Act is important to understand and who did it restrict citizenship to? 

      • In what year and based on which Amendment were Black people granted citizenship? 

      • According to Bethune, what is the dangerous precedent that the Supreme Court’s ruling in Noem v. Perdomo sets?

      • What does the author mean by saying that the struggles of Black immigrants and African Americans are “intertwined”?

  • Topic 4: Overseer Class & the Exploitation of Identity Politics

    • Article: Goodman, A. (2026, June 2). “The Overseer Class”: Steven Thrasher on How Identity Politics Is Used to Protect Unjust Systems [Interview transcript]. Democracy Now. https://www.democracynow.org/2026/6/2/the_overseer_class_steven_thrasher_on

    • Reflection Questions:

      • What does Thrasher mean by the term “overseer class”? Who does he describe as part of this group?

      • Who is Steven Thrasher, what did he do in 2024, and what consequences did he experience? 

      • As Americans were becoming more critical of policing, what did Thrasher observe?

      • During the encampments protesting the Israeli genocide of the Palestinians, what did Thrasher observe and experience has been diversified in college campuses? Who did he say were dispatched as overseers?

      • According to Thrasher, how can LGBTQ identity be exploited by people in positions of power?

      • According to Thrasher, what are his concerns or critiques of DEI, and how do they differ from Trump’s critiques?

      • According to Thrasher, how can focusing on individual “firsts” distract people from working together to improve conditions for an entire group?

      • What does Thrasher believe former President Barack Obama functions as? 

      • According to Thrasher, what is “pinkwashing,” and why do institutions or governments use it?

  • Topic 5: Attacks on Free Speech & Anti-Zionism

    • Article: Fields, G. (2025, November 17). Antisemitism, Campus Censorship and Freedom of Expression. CounterPunch. https://www.counterpunch.org/2025/11/17/antisemitism-campus-censorship-and-freedom-of-expression/

    • Reflection Questions:

      • How does Fields describe the discourse that emerged by the early 2000s? How did this discourse define the State of Israel?

      • According to Fields, in response to evolving discourse on the State of Israel, what did proponents of Israel and Zionism do to the definition of antisemitism?

      • According to Fields, who was Kenneth Marcus and what impact did he have on lawmakers? 

      • According to Field’s, what was needed to advance the campus of Marcus and those with similar beliefs? Within this shift, how were protests against Israel and Zionism framed? 

      • For Fields, what makes seven of the IHRA’s examples of antisemitism unique? 

      • According to Fields, what two key issues were students participating in encampments struggling against? 

      • According to Fields, how did Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu characterize encampment protestors and what did some campus presidents do in response? 

      • According to Fields, Instead of protecting rights to free expression and assembly, University leaders have allowed supporters of Israel to do what? These actions have produced what kind of institutional climate?

      • According to Fields, what is the stated purpose of AB 715, what does Fields argue the bill would do, and who has opposed it?

 

Part 3: Education & Black Liberation Reflection

Directions: Think about a specific problem or condition that is harming Afrikan/Black people in your community, the United States, or Black communities around the world. What do you want to use your education, skills, or future career to do about it? Explain why this issue matters to you, what you would want to change, and how you imagine your education or future work could contribute to addressing the problem. Complete this portion in paragraph format (not bullets).

Note: Choose a specific problem or condition rather than discussing Black liberation broadly.

For example, “I want to use my education to advance Black liberation” is too broad. Instead, identify a particular problem that you believe is limiting the well-being, opportunities, or self-determination of Afrikan/Black people and explain how you hope to address it. You do not need to propose a complete solution; focus on the problem you want to address and the contribution you hope to make.

Deadline: Friday - December 11, 2026 at 11:59 PM (PST)

BPWP SUBMISSION FORM

Questions, Comments, Concerns:

1st: Ask your Delegation Liaison

2nd: Ask your Black Student Union President(s)

3rd: Ask the ABC Political Education Coordinator - politicaleducation@ablackcoalition.org 

4th: Ask the ABC Conference Planning Committee - conference@ablackcoalition.org