Black Studies

George Mason University Receives Large Archive of Africana Materials

The collection, donated by John Paden, Robinson Professor of International Studies at the university, includes about 4,000 items including rare books, manuscripts, maps, and photographs.

Most of Timbuktu’s Vast Collection of African History Was Not Lost

The institute's library collection included approximately 30,000 volumes, many of which are one-of-kind manuscripts some dating back 700 years. Although the library was set on fire by a radical Islamist faction, many of the documents had been removed and others were found safe in a locked basement room.

Does Race Play Too Big a Role in the Teaching of U.S. History?

The National Association of Scholars released a report that criticizes the history department curricula at the University of Texas and Texas A&M University as being overly concerned with issues of race, class, and gender.

University of Arizona to Offer a Minor Degree Concentration in Hip-Hop

Among the courses that are offered in the minor degree concentration in the Africana studies program are Rap, Culture, and God, Hip-Hop Cinema, and U.S. and Francophone Hip-Hop Cultures.

University of Cincinnati Reopens Its African American Cultural and Resource Center

The African American Cultural and Resource Center. which was established in 1991, has been undergoing a major renovation project since last August.

Emory Opens New Archive of African American History to Researchers

The family papers of artist and civil rights activist Edwin Harleston and his wife, photographer Elise Harlston, have been fully archived and are now available to researchers at the university's Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library.

University of Michigan Launches the Understanding Race Project

From January through April, the university will feature public exhibits, lectures, performances, symposia, and other events examining the role of race in American society. During the spring semester, 130 courses dealing with racial issues will be offered students in a wide variety of disciplines.

Online Photographic Archive of the “First Blacks in the Americas”

The collection entitled, "First Blacks in the Americas," contains more than 2,900 photographs relevant to African history in what is now the Dominican Republic from the 16th century through colonial times.

Penn Looks to Hire Its First Independent Africana Studies Faculty

Since the creation of the Center for Africana Studies in 2002, faculty teaching in the field have all had appointments in other departments at the university.

New Project Documenting the History of Blacks at Yale Divinity School

The effort is under the director of Moses N. Moore Jr., a graduate of Yale Divinity School who is now an associate professor of religious studies at Arizona State University, and Yolanda Smith, a lecturer in Christian education at Yale Divinity School.

New Black Resource Center to Open at the University of California at San Diego

The new facility will have a library and offer tutoring services for Black students and workshops for law, medical, and other graduate programs.

New Summer Institute at Duke for High School Teachers in African American Studies

The new institute will instruct high school teachers on using historical literature and fiction to teach English and social studies classes on African American history.

Scholar Discovers the Only Known Painting of the Harlem Renaissance’s Gwendolyn Bennett

Most of Bennett's artwork was destroyed in a fire but in conducting research for a book on Bennett, Belinda Wheeler of historically Black Paine College in Augusta, Georgia, came across a 1931 oil painting.

The Discovery of a New Novel by Claude McKay

Jamaican-born author Claude McKay died in 1948 but recently a researcher in the Columbia University archives discovered a novel penned by the key figure of the Harlem Renaissance.

Fordham University’s Burial Database Project of Enslaved African Americans

The project aims to create a national database for burial grounds and cemeteries of enslaved African Americans within the United States.

African Studies Institute at the University of Georgia Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary

The two-week celebration being held in the first half of November will include an international conference, theater performances, film screenings, lectures, and other campus events focused on Africa.

Wake Forest University Celebrates 50 Years of Racial Integration

In 1962, Ed Reynolds from Ghana became the first Black student to enroll as a full-time student at Wake Forest University in North Carolina. He returned to the university this past weekend to relate his experiences to current students.

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