After four decades, the field of Afrikan American Studies is still alive and thriving in the University of California System.
A new report, Black Studies 2013: A Web-Based Survey authored by Rasheed Shabazz (Reginald James), communications director for the UC Wide Afrikan Black Coalition (ABC), cites the fact that every UC campus with undergraduates has some form of Black Studies courses as a sign of success of the Black Studies Movement. Two campuses have Departments (UC Berkeley and Santa Barbara); three have programs (Davis, Irvine and Los Angeles), while the others have courses within Ethnic Studies or other departments. UCLA recently submitted a proposal to departmentalize.
Visit: AfrikanBlackCoalition.org
“Every campus has some form of Black Studies courses or academic units. That is a testament to the legacy of the Black Revolt on Campus,” Shabazz said. “If students today are to maintain and expand on the gains of our forbearers, we have to know where we came from and where we are in order to know where we are going.”
Shabazz’s report notes that five campuses offer undergraduate degrees in Afrikan American Studies, and a few campuses offer graduate level degrees also. The programs vary in focus with some having a national approach, rooted in the Black Experience in America, while others take a diasporic or multicultural approach.
The report recommends future research on the historical development of each campus’s programs, as well as the recurring statewide State of Black Studies in the UC report. The annual or bi-annual report would chart the number of graduates, tenured-faculty, and other resources connected to the programs.
Salih Muhammad, chair of the Afrikan Black Coalition, called on current UC students to fight to maintain these programs and lead the effort to improve Black Studies.
“In the 1960s in concordance with the spirit of revolution and Black power, students fought to ensure that the Universities we [pay] money to attend, provide coursework and curriculum that is relevant and meaningful to our experience,” Muhammad said. “It is our duty as Black students today to carry on their legacy.”
With recent reports highlighting the lack of Black students in the UC System, Muhammad called on the University to sincerely support quality and relevant Black Studies Departments UC Wide.
“If the University of California is sincere about it’s commitment to Black students, which is very questionable, then it will demonstrate this sincerity by supporting the development of Black studies Departments on all nine campuses,” Muhammad said. “These departments will be robust, innovative, with accessible curriculum and coursework relevant to the Black experience at home and abroad.”
The Afrikan Black Coalition is a statewide coalition of Black students attending UCs. The organization focuses on political advocacy to fight racism on campus and improve campus climate, and to improve student matriculation to and through the UCs.
The full report is available at http://afrikanblackcoalition.org
Author: Rasheed Shabazz/ Communications Director for the Afrikan Black Coalition
Nommo Contributor