Winter 2024: A Message from Department Chair, Ollie Johnson
Dear alumni and friends of the Department of African American Studies,
I wish you a happy new year. I am in the middle of my second term as chair of the Department of African American Studies (AFS). It has been one of the highest honors of my academic career to represent AFS students, faculty and staff. I write to share tremendous positive developments and to ask for your assistance.
Two years ago, Wayne State recognized the imperative to strengthen Black studies and recommit the university to being a leader in diversity, equity and inclusion. Under this initiative, the university has hired more scholars of the Black experience and is poised to open the Detroit Center for Black Studies.
In the last two years, the department has welcomed four new faculty members: Rhonda Y. Williams, Navid Farnia, Charisse Burden-Stelly and Anwar Uhuru. These new professors and their outstanding scholarship make Wayne State a true national and international reference for the field.
Our students take courses on African American culture, literature, history and politics. I teach courses on pan-Africanism, Black social movements and Black social and political thought. Our majors and minors learn about the Black experience at the local, national and international levels. Learn more about programs, faculty and courses.
We also sponsor events on campus and in the community throughout the year. In February, we already have three great activities scheduled for Black History Month. We co-sponsor events with student organizations and academic departments all the time. In April, we are celebrating the 35th anniversary of the Study In, a 1989 student protest that led to the creation of the department in 1990.
We hope that you can attend some of our events and activities. Let us know what you would like to see us doing. We appreciate all the support you can give to make us the best African American Studies department in the country.
Sincerely,
Ollie Johnson, professor and chair