Afrofuturism Initiative
The College of Education and Integrative Studies recognizes the immediate need that exists to unapologetically address oppression, racism, and anti-Blackness on college campuses.
Afrofuturism Initiative: supports the advancing of Black student success and elevating Black excellence across student, staff, faculty, and community spaces. Afroturism celebrates the themes of imagination, technology, liberation, and the future.
Afrofuturist Scholars (student-focused) and Afrofuturist Fellows (faculty-focused) who have a demonstrated knowledge and experiences will be recruited to help facilitate the goals of the initiative:
- Leverage interdisciplinary, culturally relevant approaches for deeper partnerships with on-campus and community-based entities;
- Bolster pipeline programming and academic pathways with K-12 and California Community Colleges;
- Grow funding for and access to increased student participation in High-Impact practices;
- Enhance support for professional, career, and leadership opportunities;
- Employ evidence-based strategies to impact recruitment, retention, and development;
- Develop structured programming and community collaborations that center Black joyin educational and community spaces through musical and artistic activism;
- Increase capacity for the development and implementation of anti-racist, decolonizing, and Black liberatory pedagogies, scholarship, and creative activities;
- Cultivate resources for free access, distribution, and practical use in schools, community colleges, and community settings.