Studies Collaboratory News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Since its formation in 1970, UC Berkeley’s African American studies department has been at the forefront of African diaspora scholarship. According to Leigh Raiford, associate professor of African American studies, the department was born from the work of the Third World Liberation Front, a student movement that called for minority representation in academia. “The Third World Liberation strike here on campus sought to create, basically, an ethnic studies college for the study of underrepresented minority groups,” Raiford said. “Once the ethnic studies program was started, a couple of ...

UC Berkeley’s African American studies department was awarded a $2.8 million grant by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation on Dec. 11, 2020, to support an initiative led by the department’s faculty. Referred to as the “Black Studies Collaboratory,” the project seeks to encourage community involvement in the area of Black studies while expanding opportunities for new voices in the academic arena. Divided into four parts, the project involves think tanks, a summer intensive for graduate students, a grants program and a closing retreat with community partners, according to Leigh Raiford, camp...