Applied Anti-Black Racism

There is an increasing need to both make what we learn in the college classroom real to students and to provide them with the tools and assist in the development of skill sets that allow them to take action. Many of our students are overwhelmed with the current state of society, but don't necessarily feel equipped to address the issues they see. Courses rooted in social action can both empower students, and remind us as instructors that we do not have to be passive observers of the world around us. As a scholar of African American Studies, my training necessitates a commitment to both teaching and community engagement/social action. Participation in this course development program will assist me in continuing to operate in that commitment, as well as provide me with tools to facilitate knowledge development with my students that can allow them to take action themselves. I currently teach a course that encourages students to engage community and identify actionable steps that can be taken to address issues of anti-Black racism, participation in this course development program would allow me to reshape and enhance that course in particular, as well as integrate principals of social action into our department program more broadly through my role as director of undergraduate studies.

The structural nature of Anti-Black Racism in the US means that no field, discipline or career is immune from its effects. The persistent devaluing of Black life has implications for everything from the dissemination of vaccines to the development of algorithms and serves to perpetuate racialized disparities across all dimensions of society. Serving as the capstone to the Anti-Black Racism Minor, the purpose of this course is to apply knowledge rooted in Anti-Black Racism to a real-world problem or issue within your chosen discipline or planned career path.

Ashley Newby

Director of Undergraduate Studies, Senior Lecturer

African American and Africana Studies

University of Maryland, College Park