U-M Department of Afroamerican and African Studies

10/08/2026

FREE & OPEN TO ALL!
No requirements or expectations.
Join Pulitzer Prize winner, Historian Heather Ann Thompson, Formerly Incarcerated Director/Producer Asia Johnson, and other decarceral activists for this special community event-
Beyond Documentary Screening, Panel Discussion & Decarceration Organization Fair
Friday, October 9th 4-8pm

10/02/2026

Tonight!

Join us this Friday, October 2, from 7-9 pm for a special event in partnership with the U-M Department of Afroamerican and African Studies! Under Harriet’s Sky explores what the night sky would have looked like during the Civil War, when Harriet Tubman led people to freedom on the Underground Railroad. This event honors the visit of Edda Fields-Black, professor of history at Carnegie Mellon University and author of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize-winning book “COMBEE: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War.”

The evening will feature presentations from DAAS Chair Bénédicte Boisseron and Assistant Director of Astronomy Austin Edmister, along with a screening of “Unburied, Unmourned, Unmarked: Requiem for Rice” (composed by Jonathan Wineglass, libretto by Dr. Edda L. Fields-Black), the first symphonic work about slavery on rice plantations.

After the event, we will be observing the night sky using historic and modern telescopes (weather permitting). The event is free and open to the public!

09/28/2026

Coming up! Our 2026 Zora Neale Hurston Lecture of the Humanities is not to be missed. Edda L. Fields-Black, history professor at Carnegie Mellon and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “COMBEE: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War,” will deliver this year’s lecture on the topic of her book. Hope to see you there!

🗓️ Thursday, Oct. 1 | 4–6 p.m.
📍 Michigan League (Vandenberg Room)
🎟️ Free and open to the public
🔗 https://myumi.ch/9gw1V

09/21/2026

🎤 THIS Wednesday (9/23), our Faculty Forum series kicks off with Jonathan A. Gómez, assistant professor of music in the Department of Musicology (University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance).

Prof. Gómez will present “Theorizing Black Musical Tribute Work,” using a Luther Vandross tribute album as a case study. See you there! 🎶

🗓️ Wednesday, Sept. 23 | 12 p.m.
📍 4701 Haven Hall

09/18/2026

Save the date for two events featuring Edda Fields-Black, professor of history at Carnegie Mellon University and author of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize-winning book “COMBEE: Harriet Tubman, the Combahee River Raid, and Black Freedom during the Civil War.”

Prof. Fields-Black will deliver DAAS’ 2026 Zora Neale Hurston Lecture of the Humanities on the topic of her book:

🗓️ Thursday, Oct. 1 | 4–6 p.m.
📍 Michigan League (Vandenberg Room)
🎟️ Free and open to the public
🔗 https://myumi.ch/9gw1V

🌟 The following evening, DAAS and the Frankel Detroit Observatory will host “Under Harriet’s Sky,” an opportunity to view and learn about the night sky as Harriet Tubman would have observed it during her lifetime:

🗓️ Friday, Oct. 2 | 7–9 p.m.
📍 Frankel Detroit Observatory
🎟️ Free and open to the public
🔗 https://myumi.ch/DWz27

09/15/2026

Announcing our 2026–2027 Faculty Forum schedule! https://myumi.ch/dg5b3

We have an exciting lineup of monthly speakers ready to share projects, research, and ideas that inspire. Our series kicks off on Wednesday, Sept. 23, with Jonathan A. Gómez, assistant professor of music in the Department of Musicology. Prof. Gómez will present “Theorizing Black Musical Tribute Work,” using a Luther Vandross tribute album as a case study. See you there! 🎶

🗓️ Wednesday, Sept. 23 | 12 p.m.
📍 4701 Haven Hall

University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance

05/29/2026

🎓 Hail to the DAAS Class of 2026! Check out highlights from this year’s commencement ceremony: https://myumi.ch/jZNGq

📸: Michigan Photography

05/29/2026

🌟 Congratulations to Derek Peterson, Ali Mazrui Collegiate Professor of Afroamerican and African Studies, on his election to the prestigious American Academy of Arts & Sciences! https://myumi.ch/pgDGX

05/22/2026

DAAS making news! LSA Magazine highlights our classroom visit from civil rights attorney Ron Ginsburg:

Speaking truth to power is not always easy, but a visitor to an LSA class on the Civil Rights Movement tells students why standing up for what is right matters.

04/21/2026

🌟 Two DAAS faculty members have been recognized as Honored Instructors by U-M Housing: Lecturer II Gabriel Ayoola and Teaching Prof. Scott Ellsworth! Honored Instructors are nominated by residential students for their positive impact. Congratulations, Drs. Ayoola and Ellsworth, on receiving this recognition from your students!