AMHERST, Mass. – The University of Massachusetts Amherst has launched a new Black Presence Initiative. The Initiative, spearheaded by the Office of Equity and Inclusion, is coordinating a series of actions designed to document and honor the contributions of Black students, faculty and staff to the campus.
One of the more visible actions of the Initiative will be the renaming of the Fine Arts Center for former Chancellor Randolph Bromery. The renaming received Board of Trustees approval in April 2020 thanks to the efforts of a Black Presence Steering Committee, which played a lead role in shaping the Black Presence Initiative. A formal ribbon cutting and celebration will take place once social distancing restrictions are lifted.
The initiative has also funded portions of the 50th anniversary celebration of the W.E.B Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies and engaged Professor Whitney Battle-Baptiste as a Chancellor’s Leadership Fellow for the 2020-2021 academic year.
As was announced during this year’s Homecoming activities, the Black Presence Initiative has also created a graduate scholarship in honor of Professor John H. Bracey. The campus is currently fundraising to endow this scholarship.
“Professor Bracey, a preeminent scholar of Black history and the Black arts movement and a founder of the campus’s W.E.B. Du Bois Afro-American Studies Department, played a leading role in creating the Black Presence Initiative,” said Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy. “He has led the efforts to record and archive the many impressive and enduring contributions of Black members to our UMass community. It is only fitting that the campus create a permanent acknowledgement of the transformative role he has played on our campus.”
See full article from Inside UMass here.