45th Nashville Conference on African American History and Culture to convene February 13 at TSU

A long-running local forum returns with in-person and virtual attendance options

The 45th Annual Nashville Conference on African American History and Culture is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, at Tennessee State University’s Avon Williams Campus, with a virtual attendance option also planned. The daylong program is set for 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and continues a partnership between TSU’s College of Liberal Arts and Nashville’s Metropolitan Historical Commission that has produced an annual conference for more than four decades.

The 2026 theme is “From Roots to Resilience: Reclaiming Black Journeys, Stories, and Legacies Across Tennessee.” Organizers describe the conference as a public-facing mix of historical scholarship and cultural programming designed to bring together educators, students, researchers, and community members interested in African American history in Nashville and across the state.

What to expect in 2026: sessions, scholarship, and cultural performance

The program is built around eight sessions featuring historians, researchers, authors, and community historians whose work centers on Tennessee history. The agenda also includes musical performances by two local ensembles. The conference has historically blended academic presentations with arts programming, reflecting an approach that is distinct from many traditional scholarly meetings.

• Research presentations addressing slavery, community formation, and institutional history in Tennessee
• Sessions highlighting local and regional African American experiences and legacies
• Live musical performances scheduled during the day

Context: an event with roots in 1981 and an evolving mission

The conference began in 1981 after local historians and civic partners sought a dedicated public venue for research and presentations on African American history in Nashville—work they argued was not widely accessible at the time. The gathering was later renamed in 2003 as the Nashville Conference on African American History and Culture. Across its history, the conference has hosted presenters ranging from university faculty and graduate students to family historians, church historians, and teachers.

A central goal has been producing and sharing new research. Over the years, the conference has generated nearly 200 short publications in the “Profiles of African Americans in Tennessee” series, a body of work intended to make local scholarship available beyond the conference itself. A collected volume of these profiles was published as a bicentennial-era project in 1996 and later updated in 2021 to incorporate subsequent decades of research.

Registration and logistics

Pre-registration for the 2026 conference is listed at $30, with standard registration at $35. Organizers indicate registration includes lunch, printed materials, and access to the full day’s sessions. Both in-person participation at the Avon Williams Campus (330 10th Ave. N.) and a virtual option are planned.

The conference has been held annually for decades and is structured to pair historical presentations with cultural programming while keeping local African American history accessible to a broad public audience.

The Feb. 13, 2026 conference date places this year’s gathering within a long-standing annual schedule typically held in February in Nashville.