Maryland today | UMD will debut a minor in anti-black racism

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The University of Maryland will launch one of the nation’s first academic minors this fall focused on identifying the causes and effects of anti-Black racism to create lasting societal change.

The new minor will expose students to academic research in different disciplines, help them develop new ways of processing and interpreting information, and set them apart in the job market with a title that Rashawn Ray, professor of sociology and co – creator of the minor, said employers should value in a diverse nation increasingly sensitive to the value of a variety of perspectives.

It will be supported by the Anti-Black Racism Initiative, which received one of the university’s new Grand Challenges grants and reinforces UMD’s commitments to combat anti-Black racism. The initiative will also include workshops for faculty, staff, students and community members and research to be presented at an annual symposium and networking event.

“The creation of a Black Anti-Racism Minor is a response to our students who have advocated for ways to educate our community to foster a more inclusive environment,” said university president Darryll J. Pines.

The five-course Anti-Black Racism Minor, housed in the Department of African American Studies in the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, will be taught with faculty from the College of Arts and Humanities, College of Education, ‘School of Public Health and School of Public Health. Policy.

The new program debuts amid renewed examination of the role of race in the deep inequalities that plague American life, from the discriminatory policing that resulted in high-profile killings of unarmed black Americans to the environmental injustices that put the Disadvantaged communities of color in danger from industry and agricultural pollution.

This fall, undergraduates can enroll in Introduction to Anti-Black Racism, which will define anti-Black racism, describe the different ways it can manifest, and examine how it specifically shows up in different facets of American life. having professors from each collaborating college. lead the class for about two weeks. Undergraduate students pursuing the minor must take one discipline course of their choice, plus two three-credit elective courses based on their career goals. They must also complete a capstone course and research project, led by Ashley Newby, a lecturer in the Department of African American Studies and director of undergraduate studies.

We want to help people become aware of anti-Black racism and be able to step into their respective fields and recognize when concerning things are being said, when concerning actions are being taken, and when concerning policies and practices are being put in place, said Jeanette Snider, Assistant Professor of Social Justice and Anti-Black Racism Research. We want to help them not only to accept these things as they are, but to be able to have a direction to disrupt anti-black racism and, of course, eradicate it at some point in our lives.

Sophomore government and politics student Rhiley Jones is considering enrolling in the minor, which she called progressive and really cool.

I think increasingly around the world, people of all races are beginning to fully understand the extent of the racism, prejudice and discrimination that African Americans face, she said. Students realize that conducting research on racism and using data to implement techniques to help African Americans and other minorities reach their full potential are useful skills for all majors, because there are has a lot of intersectionality.

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