Last month, I was invited to the Japan Black Studies Association's (JBSA) annual conference at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto. In attendance were educators who'd traveled from universities all over Japan. Teachers of black literature, black history, black music and other contemporary issues related to the black struggle gathered for a weekend of research-paper presentations and fellowship.

It was my honor to be the keynote speaker this year. The theme of the 2017 conference was "Black Lives Matter." My presentation, "Perpetual gaijin," was about navigating life as a black man on two continents when you're viewed as an alien or "other" ("gaijin" meaning foreigner/outsider) on both, yet making that life matter through writing and activism. It was well received.

Looking out at a congregation of some of Japan's best and brightest minds was initially a bit disconcerting, like I imagine Anpanman would feel speaking at an otaku convention. But that feeling didn't last long, because I knew that I was surrounded by like-minded people: those who've devoted their time, intelligence and ingenuity to ensuring that one day, here in Japan, that insipid justification for all manner of alienating behavior — "we don't know anything about black people" — will become a platitude of the past. I commend all of the Japanese intellectuals who have undertaken the awesome task of disseminating "blackness" in Japan, and from my limited interactions with some of these professors, the future of black studies here looks to be in apt and empathetic hands.