Troy University has partnered with Biographers International Organization (BIO) as they sponsor the first major national convention on Black biography in more than 40 years.
On Friday, March 21, and Saturday, March 22, Troy University’s Montgomery campus will host 80 attendees for BIO’s “Telling the Stories of Black Lives through Biography” conference. The event will include talks, panel discussions on archives and gathering documents, along with tours of Montgomery’s civil rights memorials.
A’Lelia Bundles will serve as the keynote speaker. She is the author of “On Her Own Ground: The Life and Times of Madame C.J. Walker,” about her entrepreneurial great-great-grandmother and her most recent book, “Joy Goddess: A’Lelia Walker and the Harlem Renaissance,” which is the first major biography about her great-grandmother. David Greenberg will also be a featured speaker during the conference and is the author of his latest biography, “John Lewis: a Life.”
Dr. Kirk Curnutt, Professor and Chair for the Department of English, said the event is an ideal partnership for the humanities.
“Through our alliance with BIO, we’re able to bring to Montgomery some of the leading lights in the field of cultural and political biography,” he said. “Through us, this international organization benefits from the humanities partnerships and connections we have spent decades in Montgomery forging. It will be a wonderful opportunity to tell the story of Black lives and to explore the opportunities and challenges of writing about them.”
BIO was founded in 2009 to promote the art and craft of biography, cultivate a diverse community of biographers, encourage public interest in biography, and provide educational and fellowship opportunities that support the work of biographers worldwide. Activities include an annual conference, monthly and quarterly newsletters, a series of podcasts, online workshops, one-on-one coaching, fellowships for biographies in progress, and awards for outstanding achievement.
For more information, visit: www.biographersinternational.org/.
