African American Studies at University of California, Berkeley

03/13/2025

Today is the day! https://givingday.berkeley.edu/giving-day/90821/department/90962
Give to African American Studies and support an intellectual community committed to producing, refining, and advancing knowledge of Black people in the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, and Africa. Each course ushers in new knowledge, new intellectual challenges, and new ways to understand the world. Your gift sustains our mission to create a community of care where students are empowered to do their best work and Black life and scholarship are uplifted.

03/12/2025

Big Give Kicks Off Today, Support African American Studies!

UC Berkeley’s annual day of giving runs from 9:00 pm PDT on March 12th to 9:00 pm PDT on March 13th.

Your impact will be doubled up to $10,000 with a generous matching gift from Jeanne and Mike Williams ‘82!

Give now: https://givingday.berkeley.edu/giving-day/90821/department/90962 (link in bio)

African American Studies is an intellectual community committed to producing, refining, and advancing knowledge of Black people in the United States, the Caribbean, Latin America, Europe, and Africa. Each course ushers in new knowledge, new intellectual challenges, and new ways to understand the world. Your gift sustains our mission to create a community of care where students are empowered to do their best work and Black life and scholarship are uplifted.

Thank you for your support!

03/10/2025

This immersive experience in Ghana explores the history of seminal Pan Afrikan Social Movements using the Ghanaian Independence Movement as a case study. Engage with work from revolutionary scholars and leaders like Kwame Nkrumah to understand how communities in Ghana, and globally, think about revo...

03/10/2025

Join us for a roundtable discussion about the battle against literary censorship with writers, editors, librarians, advocates, and creative intellectuals. The program will continue the decades-long mission to protect and enshrine the voices of writers documenting ideas and forging creative expressions across genres and empowering the minds.
✨Holding Ideas Hostage: Resisting Book Bans and Literary Censorship
✨March 15, 2025, 2:00 - 4:00 pm
✨African American Museum and Library at Oakland
✨Register: link in bio.

Featuring:
- Carolyn F. Norman, California Black Librarians Caucus
- Daphne Muse, Educator and Cultural Broker
- Nicholas Perez, PEN America
- Diane Wachtell, The New Press
- Innosanto Nagara, Author of “A is for Activist”

Co-sponsored by the Bay Area Book Festival and UC Berkeley English. The Banned Scholars Project is supported by generous grants from the Spencer Foundation and the Mellon Foundation

Accessibility or accommodations questions? Contact Barbara Montano at [email protected] or 510-664-4324.

03/05/2025

Join us on March 18th for two events with J Finley, author of “Sass: Black Women’s Humor and Humanity,” and alum of the Ph.D. program in African Diaspora Studies at UC Berkeley!

Tuesday, March 18, 2025
They Say I’m Hopeless: Black Women’s Humor and the Politics of Joy
12:00 - 2:00 pm
650 Social Sciences Building, UC Berkeley
With J Finley, Associate Professor, African American Studies, Pomona College

Studying the African Diaspora in a PWI with J Finley and Nichole Brown
5:00 - 7:00 pm
Elmhurst Public Library, Oakland
With J Finley and Nichole Brown, Branch Manager, Elmhurst Branch, Oakland Public Library

Register: events.berkeley.edu/africam. Link in bio.
If you require accessible accommodations to fully participate, please contact Barbara Montano at [email protected] or 510-664-4324 with as much advance notice as possible.

02/27/2025

The Banned Scholars Project and the African American Museum and Library at Oakland Present:
✨Holding Ideas Hostage: Resisting Book Bans and Literary Censorship
✨March 15, 2025, 2:00 - 4:00 pm
✨African American Museum and Library at Oakland
✨Register: link in bio or events.berkeley.edu/africam.

Featuring:
- Carolyn F. Norman, California Black Librarians Caucus
- Daphne Muse, Educator and Cultural Broker
- Diane Wachtell, The New Press
- Innosanto Nagara, Author of “A for Activist”
- Nicholas Perez, PEN America
- Sine Hwang Jensen, Ethnic Studies Library, UC Berkeley

Co-sponsored by the Bay Area Book Festival and UC Berkeley English. The Banned Scholars Project is supported by generous grants from the Spencer Foundation and the Mellon Foundation.
Accessibility or accommodations questions? Contact Barbara Montano at [email protected] or 510-664-4324.

02/26/2025

Kindred Creation: A Conversation w/Aida Davis

***Tomorrow***
Thursday, February 27
11:00 am - 1:00 pm
Multicultural Community Center, UC Berkeley
Register: link in bio!

Join us for an intimate book talk with Aida Mariam Davis, UC Berkeley African American Studies and Political Science alum and author of “Kindred Creation.” Her work serves as a philosophical guidebook for reclaiming African lifeways and creating worlds worthy of Black futures. Through parable, poetry, theory, and narrative, Davis explores how settler colonialism impacts African relationships to land, language, and labor while offering pathways toward liberation and intergenerational joy.

The event will feature a reflection by the author, followed by facilitated discussion centered on themes of Black freedom, ancestral reconnection, and world-building on Black terms. She will also be sharing a bit about the writing and publishing process with audience members. Books will be available through Marcus Books, a historic Black-owned bookstore in Oakland.

Thank you to the Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies, and the Multi-Cultural Community Center for their support with this event!

This event is free and open to the public. The venue is wheelchair accessible. If you need accommodations to fully participate, please contact Alexandra Gessesse at [email protected] with as much advance notice as possible.

02/26/2025

Hybrid: W, March. 12 @ 4PM - “In Their Words: African American and Latine Immigrant Older Adults (Re)Define Civic Participation” - Laurent Reyes. Berkeley Center for Research on Social Change and Center for the Advanced Study of Aging Services, Latinx Research Center, African American Studies at University of California, Berkeley https://bit.ly/LaurentReyes

02/26/2025

Holding Ideas Hostage: Resisting Book Bans and Literary Censorship Saturday, March 15 | 2:00 - 4:00 pm  African American Museum and Library at Oakland Join the Banned Scholars Project and the African American Museum and Library at Oakland for a roundtable discussion about the battle against literar...

02/24/2025

Black History Month Trivia
Edmond’s Cafe Event (co-sponsored by African American Studies)

Wednesday, February 26, 2025
7:00 - 8:30 pm
Edmond’s Cafe, International House, UC Berkeley

Fundraiser! Support UC Berkeley African American Studies Department with a $5 entry fee.

-Trivia based on pop culture, global history, art, etc.
- Prizes for the top trivia champion!
- Come celebrate with friends!

Happy Hour driving trivia.

02/14/2025

Wednesday, November 20, 2025University of California, BerkeleyThe Department of African American Studies and the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues a...

02/14/2025

02/14/2025

***Tonight*** February 13 | 6:30 - 8:30 pm | EastSide Arts Alliance, 2277 International Blvd, Oakland | Organize, Fight, Win: Beyond the Election Cycle 

02/13/2025

Black Underground Scholars at Berkeley
Friday, February 28, 2025
5:30 - 7 p.m.
Sequoia Room, Anchor House

Join the Black Underground Scholars, Underground Scholars, and African American Studies at UC Berkeley for a conversation about the experience of being a systems-impacted student at UC Berkeley. Hosted by Nikki Jones, Ula Taylor, Shani Shay, and Marlo Da Motivator and featuring Hakim Owen, Charles Long, and Shalita Williams.
RSVP: events.berkeley.edu/africam

For accommodations requests and information, contact Barbara Montano at [email protected] or 510-664-4324 with as much advance notice as possible.

02/05/2025

The Banned Scholars Project and the EastSide Arts Alliance present a roundtable discussion with scholars and activists about building power, countering repression, and organizing beyond the election cycle.

✨Book Signing, 5:00 - 6:00 pm, Bandung Books, next door to ESAA
✨Organize, Fight, Win: Beyond the Election Cycle
Thursday, February 13, 2025, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
East Side Arts Alliance, 2277 International Blvd, Oakland
RSVP: events.berkeley.edu/africam.

Co-sponsored by Gender and Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, the Center for Race and Gender, and the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues at UC Berkeley. The Banned Scholars Project is supported by generous grants from the Mellon Foundation and the Spencer Foundation.

If you require an accommodation for effective communication or information about venue mobility access features in order to fully participate in any of these events, please contact Barbara Montano at [email protected] or 510-664-4324 with as much advance notice as possible.

01/29/2025

✨Students - volunteer with the Department of African American Studies!
✨Contact Barbara Montano at [email protected] by Monday, February 3, 2025.

John Burris: Godfather of Police Litigation Documentary Premiere!
UC Berkeley International House
Saturday, February 8, 7 - 9 p.m.
Note: the event is sold out, but a waitlist is available: https://forms.gle/5cRcuimhrYRKF1Nu9.

Volunteers will:
-Support the event from 5:00 - 10:00 pm
-Attend the sold-out event and watch the film
-Meet local legislators, activists, and lawyers who worked with John Burris
-Free dinner provided

01/22/2025

The Banned Scholars Project is pleased to announce our third residency with scholar-activists, Charisse Burden-Stelly and Jodi Dean. Join us for two public programs organized around the themes of Organize, Fight, Win! Register and see full event details at: events.berkeley.edu/africam.

✨Organize, Fight, Win: Combatting Repression, Building Power
Tuesday, February 11, 2025, 12:00 - 2:00 pm
820 Social Sciences Building, Social Sciences Matrix

✨Organize, Fight, Win: Beyond the Election Cycle
Thursday, February 13, 2025, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
East Side Arts Alliance, 2277 International Blvd, Oakland

These events are co-sponsored by Gender and Women’s Studies, Ethnic Studies, the Center for Race and Gender, the Social Sciences Matrix, and the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues at UC Berkeley. The Banned Scholars Project is supported by generous grants from the Mellon and Spencer Foundations.

If you require an accommodation for effective communication or information about venue mobility access features in order to fully participate in any of these events, please contact Barbara Montano at [email protected] or 510-664-4324 with as much advance notice as possible.

12/14/2024