State of Black Affairs Summit 2026

Oregon State University Presents

The State We’re In: Black Education, Policy, and Possibility in Oregon

May 21, 2026

Welcome with Oregon State University Provost and President | 8:30 am

Session 1 | 9:10 am

• The Importance and Power of Voting
• Health Inequality in Oregon: What Is the Care in Healthcare?
• Racial Bias in Technology and AI

Session 2 | 10:30 am

• Pathways to Higher Education
• Black Wealth in the Northwest
• Contemporary Political Realities Impacting Black Communities

Lunch | 11:45 am

Fireside Chat with Oregon College and University Presidents | 1:00 pm

• Leading While Black: Navigating Higher Education in an Anti-DEI Climate

Session 3 | 2:10 pm

• Labor, Risk, and Resistance: The Reality of Being Black at Work in a Time of Backlash (Participant-led session with a moderator)
• Economic Development
• Black Women & the Workforce

Keynote by REAP, Inc. Co-founder & Vice President Mark Jackson | 3:30 pm

Networking Happy Hour | 5:00 pm