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About Old Parkland
Four decades after the landmark 1980 “Fairmont Conference” in San Francisco that led to the publication of the “Fairmont Papers,” Glenn Loury, Jason Riley, Ian Rowe, and Shelby Steele partnered to organize a gathering of leading public intellectuals, researchers, and practitioners in Dallas, Texas. With the support of the American Enterprise Institute, Manhattan Institute, and Hoover Institution, the “Old Parkland Conference” built a space for brilliant minds to discuss alternative proven approaches to tackling the challenges facing black Americans today. The conference featured some of the most prominent leaders in academia, government, and nonprofit spaces. Programming spanned a large variety of issues affecting black Americans including education, mobility, faith, family life, entrepreneurship, and more.
The Old Parkland Conference in 2022 unearthed many of the best ideas to further the economic and social advancement of black Americans and helped to clarify the forces that have shaped the progress already made on this quest. Discussions explored the latest research illuminating the shifting social, economic, and political landscape for black Americans since 1980 and necessary changes within civil society and public policy. We hope the conversations during this conference will soon inspire written work and policy recommendations, and, ultimately, shifts in culture and core mediating institutions.