A message from African American Studies Chair Ollie Johnson: February 2025

Greetings,

The first half of this decade has made clear that African American studies is needed now more than ever. COVID-19’s ravaging of Black communities, the police violence which – while not new – became highly visible at the same time, the Supreme Court’s decimation of affirmative action and this year’s presidential election, remind us of the critical need for people to understand and appreciate all aspects of Black life.

To that end, the Department of African American Studies is celebrating an unprecedented number of new tenure track and tenured faculty. In the last three years, Professors Charisse Burden-Stelly, Navid Farnia, Thiago Krause, Robyn Spencer-Antoine, Anwar Uhuru and Rhonda Williams have infused our department with diverse research agendas, prolific intellectual output and exciting courses.

While I am ecstatic about our new faculty, this is a bittersweet moment in the history of the department. My mentor, Distinguished Professor and Academy of Scholars member Melba Joyce Boyd, retired in December 2024. Melba dedicated the last 30 years of her career to making the department the best it could be under challenging circumstances.

She led as department chair for 16 years and consistently served the university community and our discipline far beyond the call of duty. Throughout her tenure, she produced high-quality scholarship and poetry. Her strength, creativity, wisdom and vision are clear to those who know her and will be sorely missed.

It's no secret that the leaders who create the greatest impact are often young people. This has been true throughout Black social and political movements, domestically and internationally. It is in this tradition that our department was created.

In winter 2025 a plaque will be unveiled recognizing the courageous Wayne State students who protested for Black studies in April 1989. Among their demands was a Department of Africana Studies. A highlight of this year was the opportunity to celebrate and thank these students in April 2024. We sponsored a 35th Anniversary of the Study In, the name the students gave their 11-day protest.

In African American Studies, we cultivate student power and success every day. Our faculty are honored to carry forward the intellectual traditions of our past and present students, leaders and educators.

It is a great privilege to play a critical role in preparing students for their journeys ahead at Wayne State and beyond. They have what it takes to create the change our communities and societies need. Our commitment to supporting their development is our raison d’etre.

A luta continua (the struggle continues),

Ollie Johnson

Chair, Department African American Studies