NCOBPS 2025 Annual Meeting Information & Call For Papers

America at a Crossroad: Multiracial Democracy or Authoritarianism?

March 19th – 22nd, 2025

CALL FOR PAPERS: NCOBPS 2025

America at a Crossroad: Multiracial Democracy or Authoritarianism?

The election of Barack Obama to the presidency ignited hopes that the United States had crossed a critical juncture in a journey toward an America where all men, in Martin Luther King’s words, “will be judged not by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.” Obama’s election inspired visions of hope and possibility for some Americans, but it also triggered a white backlash that gave us the Tea Party, birtherism, MAGA, and the January 6th Insurrection. Similarly, the First and Second Reconstructions also triggered counterrevolutionary movements. Currently, unfounded fears of white replacement and a ‘browning’ American population have become a threat to the very future of American democracy. The democratic backsliding that has occurred in the United States is indicative of the rise of authoritarianism seen around the world. America finds itself yet again at a historical inflection point. On the one hand, the country can finally come to terms with and live up to its founding principles that “all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness” and embrace the multiracialism that makes our nation strong. On the other hand, the nation could give into xenophobia, racism, antigay bills, and eliminating access to reproductive healthcare as it descends into fascism. Indicative of the juxtaposed positions above, this conference is set in one of the most diverse, multicultural cities in the US which is within a state that was central to prematurely ending the nations’ first attempt to reconstruct the American democracy. We invite papers, panels, and roundtables from a variety of methodological approaches that explore these themes. We especially encourage undergraduate and graduate students to submit paper proposals.

SUBMISSIONS DUE: DECEMBER 8, 2024

Steps in the Registration Process:

1. Click on the “Register” button.
2. Enter the required information. Note: The password you create in the first section will be your personal password for accessing the site.
3. Use the conference registration password: NCOBPS2025

Section Chairs

African & Diaspora Politics
Dorian Brown Crosby – Spelman College   dcrosby1@spelman.edu

Afro-Latino Politics
Mzilikazi Kane – College of the Desert  mkone@collegeofthedesert.edu

International Relations Comparative Politics
Ana Carolina de Paula Silva – Tulane University adepaulasilva@tulane.edu

Identity Politics; Gender, Class, Ethnicity, LGBTQ+, Sexuality, Religion and Queer Politics
Jerome Hunt – Long Beach City College – jhunt@lbcc.edu
Shameka Nicole Cathey – Tennessee State University scathey@tnstate.edu

Law and Higher Education Policy
K. Juree Capers – Georgia State University kcapters@gsu.edu

Political Institutions
George Amedee – Southern University – New Orleans  george.amedee@sus.edu
Brian Alexander – Prairie View A&M University balexander@pvamu.edu

Political Theory
Jared Clemons – Temple University  jared.clemons@temple.edu

Politics, Inequality, and Social Justice
Naiji Baptist – University of Arkansas  nbaptist@uark.edu

Public Opinion and Political Participation
Eugene B. Lee-Johnson – Southern University and A&M College  eugene.johnson@sus.edu

Public Policy
Revathi Hines – Southern University and A&M College  revathi.hines@sus.edu

Teaching and Professional Development
Elizabeth Walker – College of the Desert  ewalker@collegeofthedesert.edu

Undergraduate Research
Melanie Johnson – Southern University and A&M College  melanie_johnson@subr.edu