ISSI has launched a campaign to establish the Center for Research on Black Life.
Vision/Scope
The Center for Research on Black Life (CRBL) focuses on, amplifies, and intervenes in the core issues that shape the lives of African Americans (and other Black people across the diaspora) with particular emphasis on economic inequality, racial capitalism, health inequity, environmental racism, hyper-criminalization, crimmigration and surveillance, political and educational inequality, media, and emerging technology (especially AI). CRBL will serve as an intellectual hub for scholars and students of the Black experience on and off campus and prioritizes community-engaged, policy-relevant research. CRBL complements work in the Department of African American Studies and supports scholars across disciplinary boundaries from the social sciences, humanities, and professional schools.
CRBL:
- Centers Black communities as sites of resilience, resistance, and creativity
- Addresses the structural and institutional inequities that disadvantage Black people
- Recognizes the diversity in Black communities (including gender, sexuality, class, ethnicity, immigration status, religion, disability and other axes that shape identity and social location).
Activities
Once fully established, CRBL will conduct events, train and support undergraduate and graduate students, conduct research, and serve as a hub and resource for innovative research and practice conducted by scholars and community members. The Center will serve as a brain trust to cultivate ideas, share information, spark motivation and create community, especially among Black faculty and students who often feel isolated elsewhere on campus. The Center will help attract and retain new faculty and students and create stronger ties to the university among Black alumni. The Center will also build ties with community organizations off campus that work for Black equity and empowerment.
During a time in which diversity, justice, and inclusion face massive scrutiny and defunding, the Center plans to become a major hub that reaches across universities, nongovernmental organizations, and community groups in boldly and creatively resisting efforts to unravel the fruits of decades of Black leadership.
Leadership
Tina Sacks, Campaign Chair
Nicole Hirsch, Strategic Advisor
