[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_image=”https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/academics\/prod1\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/353\/2025\/06\/cropped-banner.jpg” min_height=”212px” custom_padding=”||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”10px||12px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||17px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row column_structure=”3_4,1_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”3_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”15px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
For more than 50 years, Africana Studies has endeavored to offer a wide range of programs and courses that explore the fascinating and complex experience of peoples of African descent with emphasis on Africa, the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America. We are proud of our expanding interdisciplinary and global curriculum.<\/p>\n
In keeping with the standards of the field of Africana Studies, our program is committed to exploring the lived experience of Black people all over the world and committed to imagining more socially, economically, and politically just futures for all.<\/p>\n
Join us on this evolving journey<\/strong>!<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/academics\/prod1\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/353\/2025\/06\/Africana-Studies.jpg” title_text=”Africana Studies” _builder_version=”4.27.8″ _module_preset=”default” height=”180px” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_button button_text=”Apply Now” _builder_version=”4.27.8″ _module_preset=”default” button_url=”https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/admissions\/apply-to-queens-college\/” url_new_window=”on” hover_enabled=”0″ sticky_enabled=”0″ button_alignment=”center” custom_button=”on” button_text_color=”#FFFFFF” button_bg_color=”#E71939″ button_bg_enable_color=”on”][\/et_pb_button][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”RGBA(255,255,255,0)” custom_padding=”0px||2px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||12px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_gallery gallery_ids=”11014,11013,11015″ fullwidth=”on” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” width=”200%” max_width=”103%” module_alignment=”center” custom_padding=”||0px|||” dbdb_version=”5.9″ dbdb_slider_swipe_mode=”on” dbdb_show_lightbox_image_count=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_gallery][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#FFFFFF” custom_padding=”8px||11px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”2px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”15px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The Africana Studies Program offers a structured body of courses leading to a major or a minor in Africana Studies. It is designed to provide knowledge of the civilization, history, literature, culture, and institutions of the peoples of Africa, as well as the peoples of African descent in the Caribbean and North America. Offerings consist of courses generic to Africana Studies as a whole as well as the following concentrations: Africa, the Caribbean, and the African-American experience.<\/p>\n Africana Studies should be of special interest to students who have either a cultural or professional interest in the African, African-Caribbean, or African-American experience. It should also be of interest to students who seek to understand a culture or civilization other than their own. It provides the background for graduate work in African, Caribbean, or African-American Studies, and may lead to careers in education, community organization and development, social work, business, media, and international service. Because the program draws from several disciplines, it is an excellent choice for a second major or a minor.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”5px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”||20px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_text_color=”#E71939″ header_font_size=”33px” border_width_bottom=”1px” border_color_bottom=”#C0C0C0″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”13px||8px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/academics\/prod1\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/353\/2025\/06\/NWSA.png” title_text=”NWSA” align=”center” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” module_alignment=”center” height=”150px” custom_margin=”-12px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”15px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The National Women\u2019s Studies Association, the nation\u2019s\u00a0largest network of feminist scholars, educators, and activists,\u00a0vehemently opposes the Supreme Court\u2019s decision in the\u00a0Students For Admission v. Harvard College\u00a0<\/em>and the\u00a0Students For Admission v. University of North Today\u2019s Supreme Court decision to strike down race-conscious admissions as a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment was not unexpected nor was it surprising. We knew that it was coming.[1]\u00a0In fact, Justice Clarence Thomas had long said that even though he benefitted from affirmative action, he disagreed with it and wanted to strike it down.[2]\u00a0He just never had the votes, until now. It is important to note that the SCOTUS Supermajority (Justices Roberts, Thomas, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Coney Barrett, and Alito) not only watered down the historic\u00a0Brown v. Board\u00a0<\/em>decision but they also intentionally narrowed their decision to\u00a0only focus on race, allowing preferential treatment based on one\u2019s status as a legacy; an athlete;\u00a0or a child of either a donor, faculty member, or staff to remain in place. Thus, affirmative action for the SCOTUS Supermajority only matters in discussions about race, and for them, the only way to end race-based policies is to remove race from consideration. Justice Brown Jackson\u00a0notes that this type of thinking is in vain because \u201cif the colleges of this country are required to\u00a0ignore a thing that matters, it will not just go away. It will take longer for racism to leave us. And, ultimately, ignoring race just makes it matter\u00a0more.\u201d[3]\u00a0Additionally, studies have shown that the percentage points given to a Black, Brown, or Indigenous applicant are considerably lower than the percentage points given to legacies (in some selective schools, being a legacy\u00a0raises an applicant\u2019s chances of being accepted by almost 20 percentage points).[4]<\/p>\n So, one wonders why race is the determining factor that the SCOTUS Supermajority chose\u00a0to focus on. According to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, today\u2019s decision is \u201cnot grounded in law or fact and contravenes the vision of equality embodied in the Fourteenth Amendment.\u201d[5]\u00a0And yet, six Justices have succeeded in turning back the clock on equity and equality, a decision that will be felt for years to come. They did it because they are not colorblind. They are not race-neutral. And they did it simply because they could.<\/p>\n As Shirley Chisholm once said, \u201cYou don\u2019t make progress by standing on the sidelines,\u00a0whimpering and complaining. You make progress by implementing ideas.\u201d\u00a0This is why we organize. We cannot get tired or be weary or give up. We cannot stop pushing.[6]\u00a0We must work locally and nationally. We must continue to push President Biden and all of our elected officials to do everything that they can to right this wrong. We must keep our eyes fixed on where we want to go and not be stopped by what we see now. The SCOTUS Supermajority thinks that the battle is over because they have spoken; we know that the battle will not end until we have the last word. As always, we stand ready to fight with you and, if needed, fight for you.<\/p>\n Bending toward social justice, [1]\u00a0The Supreme Court cases that challenged affirmative action began in 1978 with the\u00a0Regents of the University of California v. Bakke\u00a0<\/em>and continued with\u00a0Hopwood v. Texas\u00a0<\/em>in 1996, [3]\u00a0600 U.S. (2023), Jackson, J., dissenting for the case No. 21-707.\u00a0https:\/\/thehill.com\/wp- content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/06\/Jackson-dissent.pdf [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#EFEFEF” custom_padding=”15px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.21.0″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_text_align=”center” header_font_size=”32px” border_width_bottom=”1px” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”16px” custom_margin=”||2px|||” custom_padding=”||0px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Department of Africana Studies [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_social_media_follow _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_orientation=”center” hover_enabled=”0″ global_colors_info=”{}” sticky_enabled=”0″][et_pb_social_media_follow_network social_network=”facebook” url=”https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/QCAfricanaStudies” _builder_version=”4.27.4″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”#3b5998″ global_colors_info=”{}” follow_button=”off” url_new_window=”on”]facebook[\/et_pb_social_media_follow_network][\/et_pb_social_media_follow][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Welcome to the Africana Studies ProgramFor more than 50 years, Africana Studies has endeavored to offer a wide range of programs and courses that explore the fascinating and complex experience of peoples of African descent with emphasis on Africa, the United States, the Caribbean, and Latin America. We are proud of our expanding interdisciplinary and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":140,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"wf_page_folders":[136],"class_list":["post-9862","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/academics\/africana-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9862","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/academics\/africana-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/academics\/africana-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/academics\/africana-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/140"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/academics\/africana-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9862"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/academics\/africana-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/9862\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/academics\/africana-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"wf_page_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.qc.cuny.edu\/academics\/africana-studies\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_page_folders?post=9862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}The Queens College Africana Studies Department stands with the NWSA, ASALH, ASWAD, NCBS and all who are disappointed and outraged by the most recent Supreme Court error.<\/h3>\n
Ignoring Race Will Not End Racism<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Carolina\u00a0<\/em>cases. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson wrote in her dissent to the\u00a0Students For Admission v. Harvard College\u00a0<\/em>case that this country has never been colorblind. We would add that it has also never been race-neutral, nor has it ever been equal. America rests on a foundation of race and racism. Enslaved people were forced to build this country, and the status quo has been maintained by the descendants of those who enslaved people. In 2008, with the election of President Barack Obama, many of us braced ourselves for what we knew was going to come. We knew then that a gear had shifted somewhere in the white supremacist mechanism and that their slow walk back to power would result in a universal gutting of equity-based policies, plans, and initiatives. Some of us tried to sound the alarm, but it was hard for many to believe that the country was on fire when it felt like we had won. And then Black Lives Matter. And then Donald Trump. And then Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett. And then George Floyd. And then Ron DeSantis. And then the attacks on critical race theory, Black History, and the LGBTQ communities. And then the\u00a0Dobbs\u00a0<\/em>decision. And now affirmative action.<\/p>\n
Karsonya Wise Whitehead, NWSA President Ariella Rotramel, NWSA Vice President
Erica Williams, NWSA Secretary
Dominique Hill, NWSA Member-at-Large
Gina Velasco, NWSA Member-at-Large
Yi-Chun Tricia Lin\u00a0\u6797\u6021\u541b, NWSA Past President Beverly Guy Sheftall, NWSA Past President<\/p>\n
and\u00a0Grutter v. Bollinger\u00a0<\/em>and\u00a0Gratz v. Bollinger\u00a0<\/em>in 2003.
[2]\u00a0Justice Brown Jackson in responding to Justice Thomas\u2019s concurring opinion in the decision,\u00a0wrote that he is obsessed with race-consciousness in such a way that it \u201cfar outstrips my or UNC\u2019s holistic understanding that race can be a factor that affects applicants\u2019 unique\u00a0life\u00a0experiences.\u201d 600 U.S. (2023), Jackson, J., Footnote 102.<\/p>\n
[4]\u00a0Golden, Daniel (2010). An Analytic Survey of Legacy Preferences. In Kahlenberg, Richard D. (ed.).\u00a0Affirmative-Action for the Rich: Legacy Preferences in College Admissions.\u00a0<\/em>New York: The Century Foundation Press.
[5]\u00a0600 U.S. (2023), Sotomayor, J., dissenting for cases Nos. 20\u20131199 and 21-
707.\u00a0https:\/\/www.politico.com\/f\/?id=00000189-07c0-dcb1-a7af-d7ce1a0f0000
[6]\u00a0At the same time, we want to remind you again of the need for radical preventative self-care. In other words, take care of yourself now by choice before you have to do it by circumstance.<\/p>\nContact the Africana Studies Department<\/h2>\n
\nQueens College, CUNY
\nDirector:\u00a0Dr. Natanya Duncan<\/strong><\/a>
\nDept. Office: Delany Hall 125
\nEmail: qcafst@qc.cuny.edu<\/a>
\nPhone: 718-997-2845<\/a>
\nFax: 718-997-2855<\/p>\n