Professor Named Associate Director at Center for Antiracist Research.

Monica Wang, associate professor of community health sciences, has been named associate director of narrative at Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research.

Launched in July by antiracism scholar Ibram X. Kendi, who serves as the director, Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the Humanities, and professor of history at BU, the center convenes multidisciplinary researchers and practitioners to understand, explain, and solve problems of racial inequities and injustice through four pillars of changemaking work: research, policy, narratives, and advocacy. In her new position, Wang will work directly with Kendi and center leadership to shift the narrative around racism and racial injustice and translate evidence-based recommendations in a way that policymakers and the general public can understand and support.

“What excites me most about this role is the capacity to generate impact on a much larger scale than I have ever anticipated,” says Wang. “I am incredibly honored and excited to work alongside our growing team at the center to strategically plan and execute our mission. Doing this work answers one of the highest callings of my public health career and my social justice heart.”

The center’s leadership team is currently developing several strategic goals within the narrative pillar to amplify research, education, and public engagement around antiracism, she says, including partnering with media and academic outlets to communicate antiracist research to the broader public and developing a robust antiracist training program.

The center also aims to lead public scholarship initiatives, which will include opportunities for BU and center affiliate faculty members to make their scholarship accessible to the general public, such as converting research into media pitches. It will host the second annual National Antiracist Book Festival, the only book festival that showcases antiracist writers through author panels and editorial workshops. The 2021 festival is scheduled for April 24 in Washington, DC.

Another major educational goal of the center is to develop first-of-its-kind antiracist degree programs, including an undergraduate minor degree and a master’s degree in antiracism studies at BU.

“There are currently only a handful of colleges and universities in the U.S. that offer formal antiracism education for students, and these are predominantly certificate-based, not degree programs. The development of antiracism educational programs aims to leverage and bridge existing resources and expertise within BU and provide students with opportunities to learn through project-based courses offered through the center’s research and policy teams,” says Wang.

She says the center will pursue external research funding through agencies such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which support projects around racial equity, health equity, and social media and narrative-based interventions.

“A longer-term goal is to pursue grants that allow us to train postdoctoral and doctoral students, so that we can continue to engage and mentor the next generation of antiracist researchers in the work that we’re doing,” she says.

Also an adjunct associate professor of health policy and management at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Wang is an NIH-funded health equity researcher in obesity and chronic disease prevention, who leads community-based interventions that target racial inequities in health. Earlier this year, she received a five-year, $3.3 million grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases to reduce sugary drink consumption and obesity risk at 10 Boys & Girls Clubs (BGC) in Massachusetts. In this initiative, BGC youth have developed written, audio, and video narratives to promote water consumption in place of sugary drinks.

“Narratives are one of the most powerful ways to translate research and engage a wide variety of audiences in the cutting-edge work that the Center, our School, and our University produces, with the ultimate goal to catalyze cross-sectoral partnerships to promote racial equity across multiple outcomes of interest, from health to wealth.”

—Jillian McKoy