News from

Africana Studies

Reset All Filters
149 Results
Honoring William Still on his 200th birthday
Portrait of William Still.

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

Protecting and celebrating civil rights heritage and Black histories
armstrong house

The two-acre site of the Armstrong School, which has been out of use since the mid-1950’s, includes a church, burial ground, and school house. Researchers at Penn’s Center for the Preservation of Civil Rights Sites and Tuskegee University are collaborating on stabilizing the structure and developing an interpretation plan for the historic site. (Image: Kwesi Daniels)

Protecting and celebrating civil rights heritage and Black histories

Launched last fall, Penn’s Center for the Preservation of Civil Rights sites is fostering new and ongoing partnerships while preserving the legacy of civil rights in the U.S.

Erica K. Brockmeier

National myths and monuments
Cartoon depicting Black Lives Matter images, a black fist, NO JUSTICE NO PEACE, and a statue of a horse.

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
Wearing a suit and tie, Walter Palmer stands outside of Penn's School of Social Policy and Practice with his hands in his pockets.
  • Q&A

    • 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.
    In These Times: Black lives and the call for justice
    Cartoon montage of a protest, a raised fist, a gun, and a masked African American individual.

    Image: Adriana Bellet

    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.

    COVID-19 and women in the workforce
    teacher leaning on desk speaking to student

    Homepage image: During Women’s History Month, researchers across the University examine what we know today about how COVID-19 has affected women in the workforce, from education to STEMM fields.

    COVID-19 and women in the workforce

    Experts across Penn explain how the pandemic has exacerbated gender inequality and challenged female career advancement in the STEMM fields, education, and business.

    Michele W. Berger , Kristina García , Dee Patel , Louisa Shepard

    Husnaa Haajarah Hashim sees poetry as transformative
    Student sitting in wooden chair.

    Husnaa Haajarah Hashim, a Philadelphia Youth Poet Laureate, is a junior at Penn, an Africana studies major, and creative writing minor.

    Husnaa Haajarah Hashim sees poetry as transformative

    As poetry is in the national spotlight following the Biden inauguration, junior Husnaa Haajarah Hashim, a Philadelphia Youth Poet Laureate, reflects on her writing and scholarship.
    Transcending movement with Philadanco!
    Modern dancers with arms outstretched perform in a spotlight as confetti rains

    Philadanco! performing Oshun. The March 3 performance was revised for length and number of dancers. (Image: Julianne Harris) 

    Transcending movement with Philadanco!

    In a live virtual performance, principal dancers from Philadanco! performed “Oshun” before sitting down to a conversation on dancing, choreography, and choice.

    Kristina García

    Historic preservation of Black Philadelphia
    Woman in a fur coat sings before several microphones; one says 'NBC'

    Martin Luther King, Jr. was in attendance at Marian Anderson's Lincoln Memorial performance on Easter Sunday, 1939. This location served as the inspiration for King's March on Washington address, says Jillian Patricia Pirtle, CEO of the Marian Anderson Museum and Historical Society. (Image: University of Pennsylvania/Marian Anderson Collection of Photographs)

    Historic preservation of Black Philadelphia

    Preserving Black history in Philadelphia is an evolving dynamic of the city’s legacy.

    Kristina García

    Penn Museum series highlights ‘Black History Untold: Revolution’
    A woman with braids stands in an empty communal office space with books and computers on the desks

    Sofiya Ballin is an independent journalist and the creator of the Black History Untold project. 

    Penn Museum series highlights ‘Black History Untold: Revolution’

    With “Black History Untold: Revolution,” the Penn Museum’s virtual programming offers a different perspective.

    Kristina García