Blacks in Boston is a conference series conceived of by former Boston College Black Studies Director Amanda V. Houston. Held in 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1989, 1996, 2000, and 2016, these conferences addressed subjects such as blacks in metropolitan Boston, the struggle for equal education, the relationships between Irish and black Bostonians, and the role of immigrants of African descent in the development and evolution of Boston’s black communities.

The 2018 theme is designed to encourage an examination of the media and Boston’s black communities from historical, contemporary, and prospective angles. At a time when media as a foundational source of information is being buffeted about by ideological and political assaults, new economic realities, and rapid technological change, it is important that we examine how these are affecting traditional and cutting-edge forms of news delivery and community building among black Bostonians.