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AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES

The Minor in African American Studies provides an interdisciplinary approach to exploring facets of Black culture within the United States. This program is designed to be of interest to students who want to explore the many contributions of African Americans to the political, historical, social, and artistic fabric of the United States.

How to Apply

Minors can only be declared by current Illinois State students. ISU students can use the Apply to Your Program tool on  My.IllinoisState.edu.

Applications for the African American studies minor are always being accepted.

Announcements

2024 Black History Month Address

Dr. Barbara Fields to give the talk titled “Is Race Identity?” on Wednesday, February 28th at 6pm

Past Events

2023 Fall Lecture

Dr. Felix Rodriguez Suero gave the talk titled, “The Pursuit of Freedom: Free Black Americans in Santo Domingo

2023 Spring Lecture

Dr. Nikol G. Alexander-Floyd and Rev. Joseph Scrivner discussed The Black Church and Progressive Politics: Past and Present Ecclesiastical Views on Race, Inequality, and Agape

2023 Spring Lecture

Matt Caplan gave the lecture, “The Untold Supernova Story of Dr. Titus Pankey”

2023 Black History Month Address

Dr. Kenneth W. Warren gave the Black History Month speaker talk, “Rethinking Race and Social Construction” 

2022 Spring Lecture

Cedrick Simmons gave the 2022 African American Studies 2022 spring lecture titled “The Challenges of Diversity Management.”

2022 Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Keynote

Jemele Hill, an Emmy Award-winning journalist, co-founder of Lodge Freeway Media, and contributing writer for The Atlantic, gave the 2022 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. keynote address

2022 Spring Panel

The African American Studies program hosted the talk: “Black Women Rising: From the Classroom to the Boardroom.”

2022 Black History Month Address

Dr. Zine Magubane, professor of sociology at Boston College, gave the lecture “The Uses and Abuses of Jim Crow: Contemporary Race Theory and the Problem of History” as part of events for Black History Month.

2021 Fall Lecture

In the talk, which was part of the African American Studies Fall Speaker Series, Craig posed the question: How can the nation remember lynching in a way that can heal and redeem the American project of democracy?  

2021 Spring Lecture

In collaboration with the Latin American and Latino/a Studies program, Drs. Dean E. Robinson and Javier Rodriguez lectured on race, public health, and COVID-19 this March.

2021 Spring Lecture

In collaboration with the School of Music, Dr. Ollie Wats Davis, gave a talk titled “Journey through the Music of Black Americans:  Art. Aesthetic. Activism” in March.

2021 Spring Lecture

Dr. Helen Neville presented “The Psychology of Radical Healing and Hope: Implications for Research and Practice with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.”

2021 Black History Month Address

In collaboration with the Department of History, Dr. Calvin White Jr. gave a talk titled “Oscar S. De Priest: A Black Congressman in Jim Crow America.”

2021 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Keynote

Dr. Eddie S. Glaude Jr., James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, spoke of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy.

Contact Us

African American Studies is part of the Interdisciplinary Studies (IDS). Illinois State University offers major and minor programs that allow students to synthesize knowledge that spans two or more academic disciplines. To find more about African American Studies, please contact us.

Location: Williams Hall 328

Phone Number: (309) 438-8298

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