Latest news with #COVIDRacialDataTracker
Axios
31-01-2025
- Business
- Axios
BU closes antiracist research center as founding director leaves
Boston University is closing its Center for Antiracist Research as its founding director, scholar Ibram X. Kendi, leaves for another job. Why it matters: BU's decision, which comes amid a federal backlash to programs related to diversity, equity and inclusion, may spell the end for several initiatives that came out of the center, including the online magazine The Emancipator. Driving the news: Kendi is joining Howard University as the director of its new Institute for Advanced Study, the university announced Thursday. The institute will explore the importance of the African diaspora across the world, including its connections to race, racism, technology, climate change and inequities. BU announced the center's closure, saying the remaining 12 employees will remain on staff until June 30, when the center's charter expires. What they're saying:"I am departing for an opportunity I could not pass up, but what connected us at CAR remains, especially during this precarious time," Kendi wrote in a statement, per the university-run publication BU Today. "Our commitment to building an equitable and just society." Flashback: Kendi, known for his book, "How To Be An Anti-Racist," joined BU to open the center in 2020. The venture launched after the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police officers and protests over his death and other killings involving law enforcement. The center launched the present-day Emancipator as a nod to the 19th-century abolitionist newspaper, as well as a COVID Racial Data Tracker to outline the pandemic's disproportionate effects on Black people. Kendi and the center faced criticism in 2023 after he announced layoffs for 19 employees, which he called part of a new strategy to keep the center sustainable long-term. BU Today cited "shifting" public support and waning contributions as the reason. Kendi told Axios at the time the layoffs "devastated" him.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Founder of Boston University's antiracist research group departs as center prepares to shut down
The founding director of an anti-racist research center at Boston University is moving to another university and the center he founded will be shutting down. "Despite all the headwinds we faced as a new organization founded during the pandemic and the intense backlash over critical race theory, I am very proud of all we envisioned, all we created, all we learned, all we achieved—the community we built, the people we helped and inspired," Ibram X. Kendi, founding director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, said in a statement. Kendi will be moving to Howard University, whose main campus is located in Washington, D.C. It is classified as an HBCU or Historically Black College or University, and named by Forbes as the top HBCU in the nation. Trump Dod Creates Task Force To Abolish Dei Offices That 'Promote Systematic Racism' In his statement, Kendi continued: "To all the faculty, staff, administrators, students, supporters, and Boston community members, I feel honored to have been able to do this work with you over the last five years. I am departing for an opportunity I could not pass up, but what connected us at CAR remains, especially during this precarious time. Our commitment to building an equitable and just society." The Boston University Center for Antiracist Research is closing when its contract expires on June 30. The center's 12 staff members will be paid through June 30. Read On The Fox News App In a Thursday press release, Boston University said Kendi's "arrival at BU followed a string of killings of Black men and women in the United States, most notably the May 2020 murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis. The explosion of activism and interest on the subject led to several strong years of fundraising and research." Records From The University Of Colorado Boulder Show College Pursued Race-based Hiring The university further noted how the Center created a "COVID Racial Data Tracker, supporting multiple research and policy teams, producing research-based amicus briefs, developing an Antiracist Tech Initiative, assisting faculty to develop antiracist courses, initiating a Racial Data Lab, convening experts, producing policy reports and public comments, fostering networking among affiliated faculty, launching a national book festival, and building 'The Emancipator,' an award-winning digital platform." A Thursday article in the Washington Post says that Kendi will "start a new institute focusing on the global African diaspora at Howard, the prominent historically Black institution in the nation's capital." Click Here For More Coverage Of Media And Culture In a statement to Fox News Digital, Boston University said, "Dr. Kendi has decided to join another institution, and the Center for Antiracist Research will close when its charter expires on June 30, 2025. Current Center staff will be employed by BU through June 30, 2025, and they will receive resources and support to help ease their transitions and to pursue new job opportunities. The statement concluded, "We thank Dr. Kendi and the Center's staff and affiliated faculty for their contributions in advancing scholarship, teaching, and policymaking. The University wishes Dr. Kendi well on his next chapter."Original article source: Founder of Boston University's antiracist research group departs as center prepares to shut down
Fox News
31-01-2025
- Fox News
Founder of Boston University's antiracist research group departs as center prepares to shut down
The founding director of an anti-racist research center at Boston University is moving to another university and the center he founded will be shutting down. "Despite all the headwinds we faced as a new organization founded during the pandemic and the intense backlash over critical race theory, I am very proud of all we envisioned, all we created, all we learned, all we achieved—the community we built, the people we helped and inspired," Ibram X. Kendi, founding director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research, said in a statement. Kendi will be moving to Howard University, whose main campus is located in Washington, D.C. It is classified as an HBCU or Historically Black College or University, and named by Forbes as the top HBCU in the nation. In his statement, Kendi continued: "To all the faculty, staff, administrators, students, supporters, and Boston community members, I feel honored to have been able to do this work with you over the last five years. I am departing for an opportunity I could not pass up, but what connected us at CAR remains, especially during this precarious time. Our commitment to building an equitable and just society." The Boston University Center for Antiracist Research is reportedly closing when its contract expires on June 30. The center's 12 staff members will be paid through June 30. In a Thursday press release, Boston University said Kendi's "arrival at BU followed a string of killings of Black men and women in the United States, most notably the May 2020 murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis. The explosion of activism and interest on the subject led to several strong years of fundraising and research." The university further noted how the Center created a "COVID Racial Data Tracker, supporting multiple research and policy teams, producing research-based amicus briefs, developing an Antiracist Tech Initiative, assisting faculty to develop antiracist courses, initiating a Racial Data Lab, convening experts, producing policy reports and public comments, fostering networking among affiliated faculty, launching a national book festival, and building 'The Emancipator,' an award-winning digital platform." A Thursday article in the Washington Post says that Kendi will "start a new institute focusing on the global African diaspora at Howard, the prominent historically Black institution in the nation's capital." Fox News Digital reached out to Boston University for more details on Kendi's plans at Howard University and for further information on the closing of the Center for Antiracist Research, but did not immediately receive a response.
