Faculty Voice: Envisioning Wellness and Justice for All

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…

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

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,”…

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Living Her ‘Freedom Dream’ With New Major

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,…

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Pursuing a Love of Black Feminisms Through New AAAS Major

With a passion for Black feminisms, Bailey Griffin, an MSU sophomore, said it’s an honor to be among the first group of students at Michigan State University to declare African American and African Studies (AAAS) as their major.   The newly established Bachelor of Arts degree in African American and African Studies is being offered for the first time this year through the Department of African American and African Studies in…

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Learning to ‘Live Life Alongside One Another’ with Black Feminisms Course

The “Black Feminisms: Past, Present, and Futures” course taught by Chamara Jewel Kwakye, Academic Specialist in MSU’s Department of African American and African Studies (AAAS), emphasizes creativity and the practice of feminism in everyday life –– Black feminism as doing –– while learning “to live life alongside one another.” A core introductory course in MSU’s newly established B.A. in African…

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‘Repairing Her Soul’ Through African American and African Studies Major

Following this year's launch of the African American and African Studies (AAAS) Bachelor of Arts program, Mike Martin, a junior now double majoring in AAAS and Arts and Humanities, was one of the first students at Michigan State University to transition to the new major. "AAAS isn’t just a major I gain knowledge in, but a place where I actively…

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Finding Community Within New African American and African Studies Major

Jhala Martin is one of the first students at Michigan State University to declare African American and African Studies (AAAS) as her major. The new Bachelor of Arts degree offered through the Department of African American and African Studies within the College of Arts & Letters was launched this year to promote and support Black transdisciplinary advocacy, engagement, and thought.…

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MSU Celebrates New Academic Learning Space for Department of African American and African Studies

Michigan State University’s College of Arts & Letters held an official opening Nov. 17 for a new space dedicated to the Department of African American and African Studies (AAAS) — the first department of its kind at MSU. “The Ascension of AAAS” event celebrated the 8,400-square-foot renovated space as well as the new bachelor’s degree offered by the department. Located on…

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Forms of Freedom Project Reimagines Pedagogy, Artmaking, and Educational Justice

Conceived through an imperative to reimagine the possibilities for public pedagogy, Forms of Freedom: The Art and Design of Black and Indigenous Creative Public Pedagogies is a two-year research collaboration between Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) artist collectives to exchange, learn, and create radical forms of artmaking and education.

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Finding Her Purpose in the New African American and African Studies Major

For Michigan State University sophomore Amber McAddley, her African American and African Studies (AAAS) major is helping her learn about herself and what it means to be “Black in America.” After the new major launched last spring, McAddley became one of the first students at MSU to declare AAAS as their major. While also pursuing a minor in Spanish, McAddley…

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