African American and African Studies

First MSU Students to Earn BA Degrees in African American and African Studies Graduate This Spring

April 19, 2024

Michigan State University’s Spring 2024 commencement will see the very first students to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in African American and African Studies. As the first graduates of this program, Morgan Braswell, Jhala Martin, and Mike Martin mark a significant milestone in the history of the Department of African American and African Studies (AAAS), the history of the College…

African American and African Studies / Arts MSU / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Exhibition / Faculty / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News / Research / Scholarship

Afrofuturism & Quilting Exhibition: Exploring Connections Within Teaching, Learning, and Quilt Praxis

April 17, 2024

Stitch by stitch, quilt making has played an integral role in African American history. But the storytelling embedded in the quilts themselves is more than mere tradition. In the Afrofuturism & Quilts: Materializing Black Futures & Black Womxn’s Quilt Legacies Exhibition now on display through Friday, July 19, at the MSU Union Art Gallery, local and national quilt artists and quilt scholars explore embodied and theoretical connections between Afrofuturism and quilt making.

Woman sitting on a couch looking at camera with many photos pasted on a white wall behind her.

African American and African Studies / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / News / Research / Student / Student

Researching the Role of Community for Black Students at Predominately White Institutions

March 4, 2024

Evamelo (Eva) Oleita, who is among the inaugural class of students majoring in African American and African Studies (AAAS) at Michigan State University, is researching the experiences of Black girls within predominately white institutions (PWIs) and how those students carve out spaces for themselves to thrive.

AAHD / African American and African Studies / English / Faculty / Linguistics / Religious Studies / Staff / Theatre

College Welcomes New Faculty and Staff

September 19, 2023

The College of Arts & Letters welcomes 45 new full-time faculty and staff members this Fall 203 Semester. These faculty and staff members were recognized during the 2023 Faculty and Staff Welcome Reception, which was held on Sept. 18.

African American and African Studies / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / Donor / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / Michigan Impact / News

MSU’s African American and African Studies Strengthened by Transformative Gift

June 7, 2023

A gift of $500,000 that’s rooted in reparations and recognizes the powerful contributions being made by Michigan State University’s Department of African American and African Studies (AAAS) toward racial and social justice will benefit the students and faculty of that department for generations to come. The Adrian Dominican Sisters, a Catholic congregation of more than 400 Dominican sisters and 200…

African American and African Studies / Diversity, Equity and Inclusion / News / Student

Love of Black History Draws Student to African American and African Studies Major

February 2, 2023

Michigan State University junior Morgan Braswell has had an interest in Black Studies from a very young age. Growing up in Detroit, watching shows like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and A Different World, and hearing her father talk about Malcolm X, instilled in Braswell a sense of pride in her culture. That influence has led her to become one…

African American and African Studies / Event / Faculty / Lansing-East Lansing Impact / News

Making History at Michigan State University

February 1, 2023

Making history at Michigan State University: Barry D. Amis, David W.D. Dickson, and Ruth Nicole Brown The College of Arts & Letters at Michigan State University has been part of many firsts when it comes to Black history, including hiring David W.D. Dickson, who was the first Black faculty member at MSU and, more recently, establishing the Department of African…

African American and African Studies / Faculty / News / Staff

Faculty Voice: Envisioning Wellness and Justice for All

January 5, 2023

Dr. LeConté Dill is a scholar, educator, creative writer, and artist guided by Black Feminist ways of being and knowing. With a commitment toward transdisciplinary, community-accountable scholarship, her work focuses on the safety, resilience, and wellness strategies of urban Black girls and other youth of color. Dill’s scholarship is critically informed by years of working in partnership with youth and community…

African American and African Studies / News / Student

Helping to Lay Foundation for Future African American and African Studies Majors

December 20, 2022

Ayodele Uhuru, a first-year undergraduate student from Detroit, is among the first cohort of students at Michigan State University to major in African American and African Studies (AAAS). The B.A. in AAAS just launched this year through MSU’s Department of African American and African Studies in the College of Arts & Letters. “Choosing to major in AAAS was a no-brainer for me,”…

African American and African Studies / News / Student / Student

Living Her ‘Freedom Dream’ With New Major

December 12, 2022

Evamelo (Eva) Oleita came to Michigan State University wanting to pursue a degree in Human Biology, but after re-evaluating her priorities and thinking about the communities she wanted to serve, she is now among the inaugural class of students majoring in African American and African Studies (AAAS) at MSU. Oleita, who is in her second year of her undergraduate education,…