Black History Month 2024
As we enter Black History Month, we’re excited to share some stories from the past year that celebrate members of CLA's community who identify as Black, African American, or African and that highlight important work being done in Black studies at UMN.
On this page, you’ll
- Meet scholars and artists whose work confronts inequities while leaning into hope and joy.
- Learn about figures and events from history through the scholarship of CLA students, alumni, faculty members, and community partners.
- Find resources and opportunities to get involved, find community, and provide support.
Yusra Hassan (BA '23, political science with a double minor in African American & African studies and global studies) was a first-generation student preparing for a career where she’ll have the skills to advocate for those who cannot advocate for themselves.
Adrian Davis (PhD '21, music) is a music educator who brought back the University of Minnesota Gospel Choir and with it, a powerful message of peace and joy.
PhD candidate Monica R Evans (communication studies), seeks to improve Black women’s representation in popular media through her research.
In 1976, the marching band director position had been posted at the University of Minnesota and one of “Doc” O’Neill Sanford’s colleagues encouraged him to apply. “Somebody has to open up this field for African Americans,” his colleague had argued. “Maybe it’s you.”
Taylor (PhD '77, history) founded BlackPast.org, the largest online encyclopedia of African American and global African history. He shares about six Black Minnesotans to know.
Adam Bledsoe (geography, environment & society) saw a production of Kumbayah The Juneteenth Story as a young child. Today, he is helping to preserve and share the history of Juneteenth.
William P. Jones (history) shares eight facts about the 1963 March on Washington that your history books might have missed.
The Dream Initiative
In 2023–24, the College of Liberal Arts commemorates the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs & Freedom, where the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered the historic “I Have A Dream” speech. Inspired by historical and contemporary justice movements, the Dream Initiative invites Twin Cities organizations and communities to engage in opportunities that commemorate, foster reflection, educate, and amplify our shared, social justice aspirations and actions for change.
Explore the Library Guide
Explore this specially created library guide, "The Civil Rights Movement and the March on Washington, 60 Years Later."
The Dream Initiative Art Exhibition
The Dream Initiative virtual art exhibition features local and national artists inspired by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous dream, and the impact the historic March on Washington had on our country and world.
What’s Next for the Dream?
Spring 2024 events in the What’s Next for the Dream? series will ask these questions.
-
What's next for economic inclusion?
-
What's next for voting rights?
-
What's next for housing?
-
What's next for education?
Connecting with Community
Grounded in the communal effort, Soomaal House aims to bridge the Somali community together through visual art and bring light to their Somali culture and heritage.
This project contributes to redressing the gap in the visibility and recognition of Black Europeans, which contributes to the reproduction of racialized regimes of disempowerment, marginalization, and devaluation of Black lives across the globe.
Festival directors Fred Kudjo Kuwornu (Italian-Ghanaian filmmaker, producer, civil rights activist, and educator) and Lorenzo Fabbri (French & Italian) are committed to making the festival a community-centered initiative, as well as an innovative public humanities effort.
This May 2023 religious studies event highlighted connections between two Jewish and Black congregations in North Minneapolis through the history of their shared worship space.
Read “The Sacred Space that Bridged Two Minneapolis Congregations”
Courses in Black, African & Diaspora Studies
Spotlight course: Introduction to African American Studies
AFRO 1011 - Introduction to African American Studies is an introduction to the study of people of African descent in the United States with linkages to Africa and connections to the African diaspora.
We will explore why people of African descent have occupied an oppressed position in this culture and globally and how they have resisted this oppression creating social change. Our major form of analysis is historical sociology, as well as the arts and humanities. We will examine changes over time and employ sociological, economic, cultural, and political tools for understanding the historical and contemporary positioning of African Americans. We will be centrally concerned with how domination, race, gender, and class shape Black life in the US and how resistance and change have occurred.
In our analyses we take seriously the deep intersectionality of systems of oppression as well as historic resistance to oppression. Critical race theory and Black feminist theory are important frames for our work. Moreover, the significance of the cultural creativity of African peoples is foundational to our understanding. We must be concerned with how Black people see themselves today. How social change is imagined in the 21st century informs our work.
3 credits
Fall 2024
Wednesdays, 5:00 – 7:30 PM
Fulfills: Race, Power, and Justice in the United States
- AFRO 1011: Introduction to African American Studies
- AFRO 1131: Contemporary Issues in Africa
- ARTS 1001 / ARTS 1001H: Introduction to Contemporary Art and Theory
- AFRO 3016 / ANTH 3016: Africa and African Diaspora Archaeology
- AFRO 3108: Black Music: A History of Jazz
- AFRO 3433 / APEC 3061: Economic Development in Contemporary Africa
- AFRO 3434 / HIST 3433: Images of Africa
- AFRO 3592W / ENGL 3592W: Introduction to Black Women Writers in the United States
- AFRO 3865 / HIST 3865: African American History: 1865 to the Present
- AMST 3112: Prince, Porn, and Public Space: The Cultural Politics of the Twin Cities in the 1980s
- FREN 3861: The Francophone World in Film: West and Central Africa and the French Caribbean
- FRIT 3850: Topics in French and Italian Cinema: Black Diasporic Cinemas: France and Italy
- HIST 3853: Black Protest in Twentieth-Century America
- HSEM 3231H: It's Giving...: Queer and Feminist Approaches to Hip Hop
- POL 3282: Black Political Thought: Conceptions of Freedom
- AFRO 4105: Ways of Knowing in Africa and the African Diaspora
- AFRO 4301: The African Immigrant Story
- AFRO 4991W: Thesis Research and Writing
- GWSS 4406: Black Feminist Thought in the American and African Diasporas
- AFRO 5016 / ANTH 5016: Africa and African Diaspora Archaeology
- MUED 5621: African Performing Arts in Education
Registration opens on
- Thursday, February 22, 2024: for students admitted to degree or certificate programs
- Thursday, February 29, 2024: for non-degree and visiting students (learn how to register as a non-degree student)
Courses
Registration opens on
- Thursday, April 11, 2024: for students admitted to degree or certificate programs
- Friday, May 3, 2024: for non-degree and visiting students (learn how to register as a non-degree student)
Courses
-
AMST 1012: Migrants, Refugees, Citizens, and Exiles: The U.S. on an Immigrant Planet
-
HIST 1811: The Sixties: History & Memory
-
AFRO 3251W / AAS 3251W / SOC 3251W: Sociological Perspectives on Race, Class, and Gender
-
AFRO 3433 / APEC 3061: Economic Development in Contemporary Africa
-
AMST 3112: Prince, Porn, and Public Space: The Cultural Politics of the Twin Cities in the 1980s
-
POL 3462: The Politics of Race, Class, and Ethnicity in the United States, South Africa and Cuba
-
POL 3478W: Contemporary Politics in Africa and the Colonial Legacy
-
POL 4771: Race and Politics in America: Making Sense of Racial Attitudes in the United States
Language course sequences begin in the fall. Learn about placement testing for Somali and Swahili.
Somali
- SMLI 1221: Beginning Somali
- SMLI 1225: Accelerated Beginning Somali I
- SMLI 3227: Intermediate Somali I
- SMLI 4227: Intermediate Somali for Graduate Research I
Swahili
- SWAH 1221: Beginning Swahili, Semester I
- SWAH 3225: Intermediate Swahili
- SWAH 4221: Beginning Swahili for Graduate Research I
- SWAH 4225: Intermediate Swahili for Graduate Research
Other languages
Where the Civil Rights Movement History Becomes a Reality: Walking in the Footsteps of Giants
The spring ‘24 course MLK 3000 - Civil Rights Research & Social Justice Immersion is designed to deepen students' understanding of the history of racism, justice movements, and the limitations of knowledge about historical figures to examine the social, economic, and political impacts of the civil rights movement, also known as the Black Freedom Movement.
At the heart of the course is an immersion experience, in which students will connect with the past while actively engaging with and moving toward the aspirations that inspired the civil rights movement: equity and justice for all regardless of race
Students will spend their spring break visiting significant locations of the civil rights movement and meeting with and interviewing leaders, historians, and civil rights icons who are still with us. Locations include:
- Memphis, Tennessee
- Birmingham, Selma, and Montgomery Alabama
- Jackson and Philadelphia (Neshoba County), Mississippi
You can support these students by making a gift to the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Program Support Fund.
Spotlight on CLA Departments & Programs
Department of African American & African Studies
Seeking to understand, explore, and invigorate our cultural heritage, the Department of African American & African Studies aspires to continue interrogating our past, to understand our present, and to promote a better future for humankind.
Degrees offered:
Center for Race, Indigeneity, Disability, Gender & Sexuality Studies
The RIDGS center supports interdisciplinary, intersectional research regarding questions of race, indigeneity, gender, and sexuality.
African Studies Initiative
A Title VI Comprehensive National Resource Center, the African Studies Initiative is changing narratives about Africa through transformative research, teaching, public engagement in African Studies University-wide, and providing outreach to K–16 educators and general audiences.
Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Program
Situated CLA and with all CLA undergraduates eligible to join, the MLK Program specializes in serving students who identify as Black, Indigenous, or students of color (BIPOC). It is both an academic advising community and a social justice education community.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion in CLA
The core values of the College of Liberal Arts include
-
freedom of thought and expression.
-
respect, diversity, and social justice.
-
excellence in all we do.
-
efficiency and adaptability in the achievement of our mission.
Resources
Nationally, there are nine historically Black Greek letter organizations (the "Divine Nine"), and UMN currently has seven.
Fraternities
Sororities
Events
The Everlasting Legacy of MLK – A Peace of My Mind
January 25 – March 17, 2024, Coffman Memorial Union Second Floor Gallery
View “The Everlasting Legacy of MLK” online
This exhibition was created by the organization A Peace of My Mind; a multimedia arts project. They set up their studio for CLA’s Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Program and asked, “How is Dr. King’s legacy crucial and relevant today?”
February Paint to Express Workshop: What Does Your Heart Say?
Thursday, February 1
4:30 – 6:30 PM
Liberal Arts Engagement Hub, 120 Pillsbury Hall
310 Pillsbury Dr SE, Minneapolis, MN 55455
Come paint with Memorialize the Movement (MTM) and the Department of Chicano & Latino Studies as part of MTM's Community Creates Series at the Liberal Arts Engagement Hub. MTM is a Black-led grassroots organization created in the wake of George Floyd's murder with the goal of collecting, preserving, and activating protest art.
- Feb 1 Paint to Express workshop
- March 20: Paint to Express with MCAE
- April 26: “Wine Down" workshop for UMN faculty and staff
- Learn more about Memorialize the Movement’s 2023-24 Hub Residency
Bill Gaskins: Black Mystery Month
March 26 - April 13
Regis Center for Art
405 21st Avenue South Minneapolis, MN 55455
The exhibition is comprised of thirty black-and-white photographs with text. The artist will give a presentation about the exhibition on Thursday, April 4, 2024, at 12:00 PM in the InFlux Space, Regis Center for Art.
