A REVOLUTION TO COME?
"There must be a revolution — a fundamental transformation — in Black studies, if this term is to have any relevance or legitimacy as an intellectual project by the mid-point of the 21st century," declared Columbia's Marable, the founding chair of IRAAS and the Black studies program. Marable told audience members that Black studies was failing to make itself relevant to the lives of ordinary Black citizens. Recalling the roots of Black studies in the sociology of scholars, such as Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois and Dr. Charles Johnson, Marable said that most Black studies programs, including those in the Ivies, are not producing research that is drawn from and informs the daily experiences of Black people living in disadvantaged communities.
Black studies programs could establish initiatives, such as the IRAAS' Africana Criminal Justice Project (ACJP), as the means to link Black studies to community-based efforts, according to Marable. He described the ACJP as a project where scholars and students work with Black prison inmates and criminal justice institutions to develop a social action agenda.
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
