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A shared dream becomes a reality

A shared dream becomes a reality

The center鈥檚 areas of focus include:
  • The contributions of Africa and people of African descent to world history and culture, including the United States, and specifically baby直播app and the Denver-Boulder metropolitan area
  • The African diaspora鈥檚 contributions to world history and culture, with an emphasis on its contributions to the United States, and specifically baby直播app and the Denver-Boulder metropolitan area
  • African Americans鈥 contributions to U.S. history and culture, with an emphasis on their contributions to the baby直播app and the Denver-Boulder metropolitan area

New center to focus on African and African American studies

Black Lives Matter sign held up at gathering

Since 2005, Reiland Rabaka has campaigned for an academic center dedicated to African and African American studies at the University of baby直播app Boulder. This year, his efforts bore fruit.

CU Boulder Provost Russell Moore recently announced the creation of the Center for African and African American Studies, or CAAAS (also called 鈥渢he Cause鈥), to support teaching and research on the history and culture of people of African descent.

Rabaka, a professor of ethnic studies, will serve as the center鈥檚 director. Establishing the center 鈥渁dvance(s) CU鈥檚 goal of excellence in research, creative work, teaching and service by providing a locus around which African and African American studies innovations and achievements can be showcased and shared with students, baby直播app and the general public,鈥 Rabaka said.

CAAAS also supports CU Boulder鈥檚 goal of becoming one of the great comprehensive public research universities of the 21st century, he added.

Provost Moore concurred, saying that the new center fills two vital needs: 鈥渢o constantly expand our scholarship to better understand the histories, cultures and experiences of people of color in the United States and across the world, and to ensure that understanding then helps inform our students鈥 approach to leadership, social justice and service to the community.鈥

Beyond just supporting teaching, research and creative work on the history, culture and struggles of people of African descent, CAAAS will provide a platform to build on the work of the more than 25 CU Boulder baby直播app members already making contributions to African and African American studies.

Among the student leaders who joined Rabaka to advocate for the creation of CAAAS was senior Audrea Fryar, director of diversity and inclusion for CU Student Government. Fryar said the students sat 鈥渁s a united front鈥 alongside Rabaka during meetings with campus administrators in a show of support for CAAAS.

Noting the 鈥渄aunting historical underrepresentation of Black-identifying students鈥 at CU Boulder, she said a lack of support systems has created 鈥渁 sense of isolation and alienation among Black students and a lack of a sense of community.鈥 CAAAS 鈥渨ill alleviate the generational hardships Black students have had to face at CU, who have never had a space exclusively cultivated for Black communities,鈥 Fryar said. 鈥淚 am overjoyed that our efforts have led to the creation of a center that will support Black students on the CU Boulder campus for many years to come.鈥

Rabaka, too, said he was 鈥渆cstatic.鈥

鈥淚t was as if a dream long-dreamed had materialized and become reality. I simply do not have the words to adequately express what the new center means to me,鈥 Rabaka said.

African American cloth patterns

Principal
Reiland Rabaka

Funding
CU Boulder

Collaboration + support
More than two dozen university baby直播app members already conducting research and scholarly work in African and African American studies; invaluable contributions and support from numerous student advocates