Africana Studies

‘Black Families Matter’

In a lecture organized by the Penn Program on Regulation, PIK Professor Dorothy E. Roberts argued that the U.S. child welfare system is designed to police Black families, not to protect children, and must be abolished and replaced with a new vision of family support and child safety.

Kristen de Groot

Sudan coup, explained

Ali Dinar of the department of Africana Studies discusses last week’s military coup, and what comes next.

Kristen de Groot

Understanding civic engagement

In the latest episode of Penn Today’s ‘Understand This …’ podcast series, Herman Beavers of the School of Arts & Sciences and Glenn Bryan of the Office of Government and Community Affairs discuss civic engagement—and jazz.

Brandon K. Baker

Honoring William Still on his 200th birthday

A conference, a website, and more are planned on campus and around the city to celebrate the abolitionist who helped nearly 1,000 enslaved people to freedom.

Kristen de Groot

National myths and monuments

Season two, episode four, of the OMNIA podcast “In These Times” features three faculty discussing the movement to reexamine monuments and the history and myths they symbolize, and how the public should think about the artworks in public squares.

The world according to Walter Palmer

The educator, organizer, and alumnus discusses his six decades of activism, growing up in the Black Bottom, studying and teaching at Penn, his work at CHOP, the student strike of 1967, the Vietnam War, Frank Rizzo, Donald Trump, school choice, gun violence, the Chauvin trial, and why he thinks racism should be declared a national public health crisis.

Greg Johnson

In These Times: Black lives and the call for justice

The first two episodes of the Omnia podcast’s second season discuss the Black Lives Matter movement and the lasting impact of slavery and colonialism on the laws and policies that have governed Black lives throughout history.



Media Contact


In the News


Philadelphia Tribune

Engaging discussion at Center in the Park on conservative agenda Project 2025

At a Philadelphia panel on Project 2025, PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts said that Black women would have even greater numbers of unwanted pregnancies without access to legal contraceptives.

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Philadelphia Inquirer

Penn law professor Dorothy E. Roberts named a MacArthur Fellow

PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts has received the “genius grant” for her efforts to expose racism embedded in social-support programs, such as the child welfare system.

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The New York Times

MacArthur Foundation announces 2024 ‘genius’ grant winners

PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts has been named a MacArthur Fellow for her work on racial inequities in health and social-service systems.

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Stat

HHS considering changes to sterilization consent process

PIK Professor Dorothy Roberts says there’s widespread devaluing of certain people’s childbearing from negative stereotypes to laws that deny someone extra benefits if they get pregnant while on welfare.

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The Washington Post

Racism can spark depression and anxiety in Black adolescents, study finds

Howard Stevenson of the Graduate School of Education says that scientific studies often influence and inform intervention strategies, including his own as director of the Racial Empowerment Collaborative.

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Politifact

Fact-checking Byron Donalds’ ‘Jim Crow’ comments on Black families, conservatism

PIK Professor Dorothy E. Roberts and Kathleen M. Brown and Mary Frances Berry of the School of Arts & Sciences comment on Rep. Byron Donalds’ comparison of modern Black culture to the Jim Crow era.

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