By Jennifer K. Morita

November 18, 2024

Leaders and academic scholars from around the world gathered for the sixth International Conference on Genocide at Sacramento State last week, examining root causes and lasting impacts to ensure such crimes never happen again.

The three-day conference, organized by Black Honors College Dean Boatamo “Ati” Mosupyoe, opened Nov. 14 and marked the 30th anniversary of the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi people in Rwanda. Speakers also addressed other atrocities, including those perpetrated against Native American and Indigenous people and women, as well as the Holocaust and events in Palestine.

“I welcome you all to this conference as we continue to strive to make what seems impossible never again a reality,” Mosupyoe said during the opening ceremony.

“Rwanda continues to show us that we can rise from the ashes of despair. This conference marks a significant opportunity for reflection, dialogue and action as we work towards a world where the atrocities of genocide are never repeated.”

This year’s event also honored the late Sacramento State Ethnic Studies professor Alexandre Kimenyi, who organized the first conference in 1998.

Kimenyi, who grew up in Rwanda, lost several members of his family when leaders of the Hutu-majority government ordered the mass extermination of ethnic-minority Tutsis in April 1994. More than one million people were killed in less than three months, according to the United Nations.

“The weight of this historical truth is both a burden and a call to action for those who seek justice, remembrance and healing,” said Rwandan Minister of Justice and Attorney General and opening ceremony keynote speaker Emmanuel Ugirashebuja.

“The sixth International Conference on Genocide serves as a call for collective reflection and action on the contemporary and historic realities of genocide and the urgent need to address persistent influence on world events, politics and social relations." Sacramento State President Luke Wood

He added that three-quarters of his country’s people are under the age of 35 and either weren’t born yet or are too young to remember this dark chapter in Rwanda’s history.

“It is our solemn duty to remember the victims, honor their resilience and ensure that their stories are forever etched into our collective consciousness,” he said. “By doing so, we not only pay tribute to those who suffered but also lay the groundwork for preventing such atrocities from happening again.

“... Our collective responsibility to transmit memory of genocide extends beyond the 1994 genocide against the Tutsi to include all the other genocides that have taken place in other parts of the world.”

Other topics discussed included overcoming silence and genocide deniers, child victims of systematic genocide and colonialism and occupation. The conference also addressed reconciliation and ways communities can move toward healing.

“The pursuit of truth though academic research and collaborative dialogue is a crucial part of the work we must do to end genocide,” said Mark Wheeler, senior advisor and chief strategist to Sacramento State President Luke Wood.

“This conference is an important, contemporary example of how academic institutions can provide safe and brave spaces for the presentation and evaluation of competing ideas and theories.”

President Wood was unable to attend the conference due to a schedule conflict but addressed attendees in a recorded video.

“The sixth International Conference on Genocide serves as a call for collective reflection and action on the contemporary and historic realities of genocide and the urgent need to address persistent influence on world events, politics and social relations,” Wood said.

“Sacramento State is proud to provide a platform for all communities to challenge their assumptions about one another, respect each other’s complex identities and strive to create a more peaceful and equitable world for all.”