As the new IRAAS director,
what are your goals?
One of these goals is the
expansion of our student ranks.
Each graduating class is so
impressive that one
automatically asks oneself the
question, “What if we had
more?” Well, we’re going to
try to do that. But that takes a
bit of capacity building. We’ve
had some great hires recently,
and we could do with a few
more to cover some of the
intellectual areas which could
use augmentation.
I also have a personal goal of
expanding our outreach and
programming. Last year’s
Conversations lecture series
featured various panels,
including ones on policing, on
imprisonment and the arts, on
James Baldwin, on the 1980s
Columbia anti-apartheid
struggle, on race and marriage
e q u a l i t y, a n d o n b l a c k
e d u c a t i o n . We a l s o h a d
speakers, including Deborah
Willis, Theri Pickens, Michael
Ralph, Yarimar Bonilla, and
others addressing a range of
topics.
We’ve had more programs
here in Harlem, so as to
engage with wider audiences.
We had a very well-attended
panel at the Schomburg on
Post-Racial Mythologies and
Post-Ferguson Realities and
hosted a fantastic panel on the
arts and mass incarceration, at
MIST Harlem with Of Note
Magazine. In the Spring 2015
semester, we held a conference
titled, “Are the Gods Afraid of
Black Sexuality?”, that was
coordinated by CARSS. In the
Summer 2015, we hosted our
inaugural two week Summer
Teachers and Scholar Institute
(STSI), which focused
particularly on the history of
African-descended peoples in
New York City. These are just
some of our programs.
!Are
there other IRAAS
projects underway?
I’m glad you asked. Another
project is the creation of an
IRAAS Alumni Council. We
were informally keeping in
touch with many of our alums
through social media, emails,
and their visits back to our
office, and I wanted to take
that to the next level, to have
an organized and official body
which would serve as a social,
intellectual, and professional
network. It was easier than I
thought – the enthusiasm for
the idea was impressive. The
co-chairs are Zinga Frasier and
Russell Malbrough, and they
and our new IAC have really
hit the ground running!
!What
type of innovations,
would you like to bring to
the Institute?
One program we’re developing
is an internship program for
our undergraduate and
graduate students. Simply put,
I