2025-07-09
- AFRO is very pleased to share that Professor Leonard McKinnis of the department of African American Studies and the department of Religion has been named General Editor of the Religion, Race, and Ethnicity Series with NYU Press. He is the second editor of this Series, following Peter Paris who was General Editor for two decades. Dr. McKinnis expressed his excitement and honor to succeed Dr....
2025-06-18 - In recognition of Father's Day, professor Esther Ngumbi was featured in another NPR, Goats and Soda, opinion piece. In the article, she discusses the importance of her father, Harrison Ngumbi's defiance of a Kenyan cultural belief systems about educating daughters and its importance. "Thank you, Dad, for standing up for your girls.In rural Kenya, where we grew up...
2025-06-05 - Accolades go to Dr. Erik S. McDuffie, associate professor for both the Department of African American Studies and History, who has been recognized for several faculty honors: received 2025 Campus Distinguished Promotion Award; named Dean's Distinguished Professorial Scholar for the 2025-2026 academic year; lastly, received the Jon Gjerde Prize from the Midwestern History Association for the best...- 2025-05-21 - Prof. Bobby J. Smith II had the pleasure of hosting the annual senior thesis research symposium. This year's research topic focused on "(Re) Evaluating the Black Experience", where 8 students presented their final work: Zoe Howard, Tommy Pettie, Vans Smallwood, Faith Lee, Nyx Melancon, Ma'at Husband-Ausar, Zoë Newman-Payne, and With themes ranging from: "Analysis of...
2025-05-12 - Prof. Sundiata Cha-Jua was featured in an Illinois Public News article where he was interviewed about police misconduct in Champaign County. "CHAMPAIGN — In 2009, the fatal shooting of a teenager by a Champaign Police officer sparked calls for change in the years that followed. One of those calls was for a civilian review board to provide broad oversight over the Champaign...
2025-05-11 - Professor Esther Ndumi Ngumbi featured in NPR (opinion; Washington, D.C.) on the role her mother played in life and career."I want you to study hard so that you can rescue our family from poverty. Your father and I are poor and the only gift we can give you is an education. You are intelligent. Rise up and make your lives meaningful. I gave birth to you and I know you have what it takes to make...- 2025-05-02 - The Department of African American Studies (AFRO) hosted its annual Awards Ceremony on May 2nd, 2025, to recognize the accomplishments of faculty and 1 graduate student from the 2024-2025 academic year. Each year, the ceremony aims to fulfill AFRO's mission statement, "celebrating academic excellence, and social responsibility!" It was an afternoon meant for campus faculty, staff, and...
2025-04-02 - On 3/28 and 3/29 Dr. Eddie O'Byrn had the incredible opportunity to be a part of a critical theory symposium on the philosophy, theory, and praxis of Angela Davis. The symposium was held at Penn State, only five speakers were invited, Davis herself gave the introductory keynote, she was present on Saturday for each speaker, responded to each speaker at the end, and attended a dinner with the...
2025-03-05 - Arts and Humanities editor, Jodi Heckel, of the IL News Bureau interviewed Dr. Mary Phillips about her new book, "Black Panther Woman: The Political and Spiritual Life of Ericka Huggins." An excerpt from the story (originally published on 3/4/25): "CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Political activist and educator Ericka Huggins used spiritual wellness practices to cope with imprisonment...
2025-02-18 - On February 18, 2025 the department of African American Studies hosted a "Hot Chocolate and Donuts" social. The social hour was a time for faculty and AFRO's majors and minors students to mingle in order to build community.
2025-01-13 - The Department of African American Studies is pleased to announce our newest addition to the faculty! We welcome associate professor, Dr. Mary Phillips to the team to further our commitment to excellence in teaching and research.In her work on women's history, Dr. Mary Frances Phillips focuses on wellness studies, mass incarceration, Black feminism, gender, and the modern Back freedom...
2025-01-13 - The Department of African American Studies is excited to announce professor Krystal Smalls has transitioned from an affiliate faculty member to a core member! A bit of background on Dr. Smalls research; "I study the semiosis of race in young people's lives by conducting ethnographic research in different locations of the "African diaspora" (mostly digital or urban). My work...
2024-11-28 - In his book Food Power Politics: the Food Story of the Mississippi Civil Rights Movement, the sociologist Bobby Smith II explores how food was both weaponized and used as a tool of resistance in the struggle for Black equality, telling the story of the activist and cook Georgia Gilmore – whom he calls an unsung...- 2024-11-27 - AFRO and BNACC had a an excellent assembly of both students, faculty, and staff for our Freedom Forum event! Its objective was to discuss the meaning of freedom and expansive global visions of Black liberation in light of the 2024 U.S. presidential election. Through an intergenerational dialogue between students and faculty, the panel traced the election's local, national, and global...
2024-11-27 - The department of African American Studies is pleased to announce that Dr. McDuffie's new book, The Second Battle for Africa is now available. The Midwest played a crucial role in the growth of Black freedom movements and in expanding the ideas of political activist Marcus Garvey in the 20th century. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign African American studies and...