Featured Faculty: Dr. Paula Austin

Paula C. Austin is a U.S. historian and Black Studies scholar who researches, writes, and teaches about Black life and social movements. She is the author of Coming of Age in Jim Crow DC: Navigating the Politics of Everyday Life. She has also written about Black visual culture in the early 20th century for the […]

Dr. Joyce Hope Scott Interviewed by BU Experts

AFAM Studies professor Dr. Joyce Hope Scott was recently interviewed by BU Experts about Juneteenth. In the article, Juneteenth: Acknowledging the past and crafting a path towards restorative justice, Dr. Scott discusses the history of the holiday and the urgent call for reparations. “Today, we should see Juneteenth as a moment to re-focus on ongoing national […]

Read for Free: Dr. Paula Austin’s Article in The Black Scholar

Dr. Paula Austin’s article in the latest issue of The Black Scholar, “Narratives of Interiority: Archival Practices of Care and Affection (and its Limits),” is free to read for a limited time. “Scholars have written about methodological approaches to archives not meant to get at Black life, Black experiences, and especially not Black life of […]

52.2, Black Archival Practice I

This issue on Black Archival Practice is a collection of reflections, celebrations, and prefigurations of and for the past, present, and future of the Black lives in the Archive(s). The essays in this issue center Black(end) archival knowledges as a way to expand current understandings of how Black archival practices get imagined, contested and negotiated within traditional […]

Upcoming Documentary Featuring Dr. Louis Chude-Sokei

This month, A&E will premieres “Right to Offend: The Black Comedy Revolution,” a two-part documentary co-directed by Mario Diaz and Jessica Sherif. It premieres June 29 & 30 at 9pm ET/PT on A&E and will also be available on demand and to stream on the A&E app and aetv.com. BU AFAM Director Dr. Louis Chude-Sokei […]

The “Last” AFAM Studies Class Graduated this Saturday

Congratulations to “the last” African American Studies Program Minors & Masters Students! This class marks the end of one chapter and the beginning of a new one as the program will take on “major” changes! The afternoon was marked by good weather and even better company. With a convocation address for the ages by Dr. […]

Wednesday 5/25: Reviving the Fierce Urgency of Now

This Wednesday, May 25, 2022 at 2:30 p.m. ET, catch AFAM Studies Professor Ianna Hawkins Owen speak at “Reviving the Fierce Urgency of Now: Commemorating George Floyd and Reflecting on Racial Justice in America” hosted by BU Diversity & Inclusion. Description: How have we grown and changed in the two years following the murder of George […]

AFAM Studies Director Louis Chude-Sokei Featured in Bostonia Article

BU’s Director of African American Studies, Dr. Louis Chude-Sokei was recently interviewed by Bostonia, BU’s Alumni Magazine, for their Special Issue on BU Research. In the article, “When People Don’t Have Resources, They Still Have Imagination,” Dr. Chude-Sokei discusses how we can inspire and sustain our imaginations. We’re capable of imagining everything, even that which […]

Major Paper Presentation by MA Student Joanne Charles Lafortune

Congratulations to AFAM Studies MA candidate, Joanne Charles Lafortune who successfully presented a major paper entitled ” Debunking the Myth: The Boukman Prayer in Proper Context” to AFAM Studies faculty on May 12th, 2022 at 3 PM. This presentation satisfies a requirement for the MA degree in African American Studies. Joanne Charles Lafortune & Dr. […]