- Ibram X. Kendi, one of America’s leading racism historians, will launch the Boston University Center for Anti-Racist Research on July 1, reported Doug Most for BU Today.
- Kendi is the founding director of the Anti-Racist Research & Policy Center at American University, where he is a professor of history and international relations.
- Kendi has long been a voice for anti-racism, but has been speaking out even more since protests against systemic racism began in response to George Floyd’s death. His book, “How to Be an Anti-Racist,” has been flying off the shelves; it’s currently out of stock on Amazon.
- The plan for BU’s anti-racism center has been in the works for nearly a year, Most reported, but is happening during an unprecedented time when the pandemic has hit black America the hardest and the nation has erupted in the Black Lives Matter movement.
- Kendi told BU he hopes to make the research center the premier place for researchers to solve today’s racial problems and transform how racial research is conducted. He intends to focus on developing a team model, rather than the standard individualized research.
- In a separate interview with BU’s Sara Rimer, Kendi said Boston was an ideal place for his work because it has a “rich history of giants in African-American history.”
- “Policy can be changed if you get the right people in place who have the right amount of courage and determination,” he said. “I believe that change is possible.”
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