Over three days, 22-24 October 2020, the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies will hold a virtual symposium to recognize fifty years on the UMass Amherst campus. The fiftieth anniversary theme is Conscious to Woke: Fifty Years of Revolutionary Black Thought.

The symposium will present student-activist and faculty founders of Black studies on this campus and in the Pioneer Valley along with current students and faculty  who will discuss the history of the department’s founding and provide insight on the student movement establishing Black Studies in Western Massachusetts. 

Follow the 50th anniversary on all social media platforms at #Conscious2Woke2020. View the virtual symposium program and anniversary scrapbook here: https://blogs.umass.edu/afroam50th/

Parker examines the movement to racially integrate white-collar work and consumption in American department stores, and broadens our understanding of historical transformations in African American class and labor formation.

Honorable Mention, 2019 MLA Prize for a First Book
Sole Finalist Mention for the 2018 Lora Romero First Book Prize, presented by the American Studies Association
Rusert's book exposes the influential work of a group of black artists to confront and refute scientific racism. Traversing the archives of early African American literature, performance, and visual culture, Britt Rusert uncovers the dynamic experiments of a group of black writers, artists, and performers.
 

One of the largest departments of its kind, the W. E. B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies serves students seeking in-depth knowledge of the history and culture of black people in the Americas and the worldwide African Diaspora.