Frederick Douglass Institute

This track examines the design and fragility of constitutional governance with attention to tyranny, federalism, separation of powers, and the limits of executive authority. It focuses on how the role of the US Constitution is tested by efforts to consolidate power and by global dynamics, including changes in funding to international institutions. 

Sub-Themes:

• Tyranny, federalism, separation of powers,
• Misuse of executive power and the role of the US Constitution
• Reduction in funding to USAID, UN, etc.

Papers on this track address the historical and contemporary struggle for civil rights, including the legacies of Jim Crowism and the persistence of segregation. It revisits landmark jurisprudence, including Brown Vs Board of Education, and evaluates how civil rights frameworks continue to shape access, representation, and remedies for structural inequity.

Sub-Themes:

• Jim Crowism
• Issues pertaining to Civil Rights
• Segregation
• Brown v. Board of Education
• Can a person truly be free if society denies them an education?
• Systemic discrimination/Violence against Black Businesses/Economic Zones within the USA
• Frederick Douglass in Pennsylvania

Submissions to this track explore the lived realities of undocumented immigrants and evaluate the rise of unchecked enforcement actions. It situates immigration within constitutional norms and human rights principles, asking how policy design can reconcile border governance with dignity, belonging, and due process.

Sub-Themes:

• Undocumented immigrants
• Rise of unchecked ICE actions, etc.

This track centers on the interconnectedness of physical health, mental health, and environmental conditions as essential components of thriving communities. It explores how policies that address mental health, environmental injustices, and access to clean, safe environments contribute to holistic well-being, equity, and resilience. 

Sub-Themes 

• Improving mental health
• PA should implement policies to help people thrive mentally, physically, spiritually…
• Environmental injustices
• Health/Environment and Community Well-Being.
   

This track examines how early settlements, Native American experiences, and early Latino/a/x population histories shape contemporary policy debates and social outcomes. It also invites critical reflection on current public discourse, including challenges to equity work and the ongoing question of how Frederick Douglass might assess the state of the nation today.

Sub-Themes:

• Experience of Native American populations
• Early European Settlements
• Early Latino/a/x Population experience
• Anti-DEI and Wokeness
• What would Frederick Douglass say about the current state of the US?
   

This track explores the transnational reach of Black freedom movements from the eighteenth century to the modern era. It invites proposals on Maroon communities in the Americas, the Haitian Revolution, Bahia’s resistance networks, Frederick Douglass’s liberation leadership in Ireland, and antislavery and Black liberation movements across the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, and Africa. Presenters are encouraged to examine how global solidarities, diasporic connections, and freedom struggles continue to shape contemporary understandings of justice and liberation.

This special track celebrates the spirit and creativity of the conference theme Together We Thrive. It provides a space for students, scholars, and community members to present visual, artistic, and research-based works that reflect collaboration, resilience, and collective progress. Submissions may include posters, photography, digital exhibits, performance pieces, or multimedia storytelling that highlight individual and community contributions to equity, freedom, and justice. The session encourages innovative formats that make scholarship and activism visible, accessible, and inspiring to a wider audience. Posters should not be bigger than 48 by 36 inches in dimension.

This track is dedicated to highlighting the creativity and leadership of students working across science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and kinesiology. It provides a platform for undergraduate and graduate students to share research, applied projects, and innovations that connect STEM fields with human performance, public health, and social equity. Presentations may include topics in biomechanics, sports medicine, athletic analytics, health technology, and environmental sustainability, as well as examinations of Black excellence and historical contributions in science and athletics. The track encourages emerging scholars to demonstrate how their work advances community well-being, innovation, and the conference theme Together We Thrive through collaboration and discovery.