9:00 AM – 9:45 AM

Check-In & Breakfast
📍 Student Center Lobby
Grab your badge, greet fellow attendees, and enjoy a light breakfast before we begin.

 

9:50 AM – 11:00 AM

HOOD TALES – Opening Main Session
📍 Regis Room
Live storytelling from voices across our community. These raw, heartfelt narratives highlight the resilience, beauty, and strength of Black Buffalo. Real stories. Real power.

 

11:10 AM – 12:10 PM – Workshop Block 1

 

Gun Violence Prevention: Protecting Our Communities
📍 Regis Room
This timely panel dives into the root causes and impact of gun violence in Buffalo. Learn about local strategies, policy solutions, and community-based approaches that prioritize safety, prevention, and healing.

 

Black Mental Health
📍 Grupp Fireside Lounge
Prioritizing wellness and breaking generational cycles with holistic care, therapy, and practical tools for emotional and mental strength.

 

Ask A Lawyer
📍 SC 205 Conference Room
An open Q&A session with Black legal professionals covering your rights, protections, and how to navigate key issues affecting our communities.

 

Come Make Art (Drop-In All Day)
📍 Economy Dining Hall
An interactive mural experience. Pop in any time to paint, create, and contribute to a community art piece that will live on beyond the event.

 

12:10 PM – 1:00 PM

Lunch Available
📍 Economy Dining Hall
Grab a bite and connect with others. Lunch will remain open during the next session, so feel free to flow in and out.

 

1:10 PM – 2:10 PM – Workshop Block 2

Black and Development
📍 Regis Room
A powerful session on building the Black Buffalo we need—covering housing, real estate, investment, ownership, and economic revitalization.

 

Black in News, Media & Entertainment
📍 Grupp Fireside Lounge
How do we control our own narrative? This conversation focuses on media, journalism, and content creation from a Black lens—honest, bold, and culture-driven.

 

Environmental Justice
📍 SC 207 Conference Room
Explore the intersection of equity, environmental policy, and public health—especially in Black neighborhoods historically impacted by pollution, neglect, and disinvestment.

 

2:20 PM – 3:20 PM – Workshop Block 3

 

Small Business Roundtable
📍 Regis Room
This session is for entrepreneurs, aspiring founders, and side hustlers. Discuss business development, funding, visibility, and community-based growth.

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Jury Diversification: Justice for All
📍 Grupp Fireside Lounge
Our justice system must reflect the people it serves. This panel explores the urgent need for more diverse juries, especially in cases impacting Black communities, and what we can do to change the system from the inside out.

 

3:30 PM – 4:00 PM

Closing Ceremony
📍 Regis Room
We’ll wrap the day with reflections, gratitude, and a call to action. What we build next—we build together.

 

👧🏾👦🏽 Kids Track – All-Day Youth Experience (Grades 4–12)

How Does This Thing Work?
A fun and interactive lesson on civic engagement made kid-friendly — because even our youngest leaders deserve to understand their power.

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I Am Art
A storytelling and photo exhibit that lets young people share who they are—visually and verbally. Their work will be displayed at a future Buffalo event and during our closing concert.

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The Art of Public Speaking
An interactive session designed to help youth discover the power of their voice and speak with confidence through storytelling.

Supervised, meaningful, and full of joy—this is where young leaders are made.