Department of Africana Studies
The Department of Africana Studies stand in solidarity with the international protests in expressing our condemnation of the history of state sanctioned violence against African people in the United States. In fact, we ARE the protesters and the protesters ARE us. While the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd may have been the spark, the global uprising is a result of the centuries-long systematic assault on Black lives and aspirations.
For more than 50 years, the Department of Africana Studies at San Diego State University has affirmed that Black Lives Matter and remain committed to examining, critiquing, and celebrating the lived experiences of all Africana peoples. Black Studies is a result of protests throughout our history. In the same tradition, the Gus & Emma Thompson Black Resource Center at SDSU stands as a monument to the continued demands and struggles of Black faculty, students and community members.
As scholars and educators, we focus on a variety of subjects pertaining to the Africana experience. As such, the Department is concerned with strengthening the bond between Black students and the Black community and developing frameworks for social change and the struggle for Black dignity.
Further, we recognize that racist policing is but a symptom of a much larger problem endemic to American society. It is our obligation to engage our students and community in developing strategies for dismantling every system of oppression that seeks to systematically silence, erase, and destroy us. We draw our inspiration from not only the sacrifices of our ancestors and elders, but also from the agency and leadership of our youth making their own demands and sacrifices in this contemporary moment.
The Department of Africana Studies does not and cannot exist outside of the reality and everyday experiences of African people and is very much a part of this global demand for human rights and dignity. The discipline of Africana Studies IS because we ARE.
The Department of Africana Studies
San Diego State University
“...for all kinds of offenses - and, for no offenses - from murders to misdemeanors,
men and women are put to death without judge or jury; so that, although the political
excuse was no longer necessary, the wholesale murder of human beings went on just
the same.”
~Ida Bell Wells-Barnett
Lynch Law in America, 1900
Statement on the Tragedy at the Islamic Center of San Diego
The horrific events at the Islamic Center of San Diego are a tragic reflection of the increase in anti-Muslim hate that plagues many segments of American society. Indoctrinated hate took three souls from us—Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha, and Nader Awad. We refuse to let violence have the last word. The Department of Africana Studies at San Diego State University stands in solidarity with the Muslim community. We stand with you. We mourn with you. And we will fight with you against the powers and the culture that foments the hate and division that led to this tragedy.
We live in a nation that has always worn the see-through cloak of “the separation of church and state,” while demonstrating a worldview and practices of a society firmly rooted in Christian Nationalism and Zionism. With the backdrop of decades-long anti-Muslim hate sparked by the tragedy of 9/11, the genocide in Gaza, and the illegal war in Iran, Muslims in this country, like people of color in general, are deemed "other," stripping away their humanity under the narrative construct of perpetual “foreignness” and inherent threat. This hatred does not emerge in a vacuum. Anti-Muslim hostility from the highest levels of power, culminating in Executive Order 13769 in January 2017, which banned entry from seven Muslim-majority nations, has provided both blueprint and permission for violence. The MAGA movement's continuation of this demonization, with promises to expand such bans and dehumanize Muslim communities, makes them complicit in creating the conditions that led to this bloodshed.
This violence hits close to home. Our department is home to Muslim students from Somalia, Senegal, Palestine, and other parts of the Muslim world. The second largest demographic in Africana Studies are Somali Muslims, and many of our current and former students were personally affected by this tragedy. Just last month, Africana Studies sponsored and co-sponsored two events in support of our Somali students, recognizing the compounded hostilities they endure by being Black, immigrant, and Muslim. These gatherings reflected not merely timely solidarity, but foresight: we had already identified the unique dangers gathering around Muslim communities, understanding that atrocities like this are not aberrations, but predictable outcomes in a political climate that cultivates and sanctions anti-Muslim hatred. We now know that the teen murderers were indoctrinated by hate, with investigators uncovering anti-Islam writings, Nazi-related imagery, and messages containing racist motives inside their vehicle. They intended to commit unspeakable acts against children, the most vulnerable among us.
We honor the lives taken and commit to supporting the impacted families and community through ongoing advocacy, resources, and our continued educational work to dismantle the ideologies that breed such violence. We invoke their names once more, Amin Abdullah, Mansour Kaziha, and Nader Awad, because they are now ancestors and martyrs. We speak their names to keep their spirits alive, to ensure they are not reduced to statistics, and to carry their memory forward in our struggle for justice.
In solidarity and struggle,
The Department of Africana Studies, San Diego State University
Major in Africana Studies
A major in Africana Studies prepares students interested in history, culture, law, and foreign affairs with the skills to become outstanding, productive citizens.
Read more about the major
Minor in Africana Studies
A minor in Africana Studies will provide an invaluable foundation in critical thinking, research, writing and analysis. This minor consists of a minimum of 18 units.
Read more about the minor
Minor in African Studies
A minor in African studies is offered through Interdisciplinary Studies, but advising is done through our department. This minor consists of a minimum of 15 upper division units.
Read more about the African Studies minorWhy choose Africana Studies?
Africana Studies offers a broad, interdisciplinary program. The curriculum is designed to focus on a variety of subjects pertaining to the Africana experience. It is also concerned with strengthening links between black students and the black community, and developing frameworks for social change and the struggle for black dignity.
Africana Studies is a degree that can offer limitless career opportunities. Students will learn strong skills in critical thinking, communication, research, writing and analysis, skills that are invaluable in most any field. A degree like this encourages you to follow your passions and interests.
Learn more about our programs »
Gus & Emma Thompson Black Resource Center
SDSU’s Gus & Emma Thompson Black Resource Center (BRC) strives to promote Black Excellence
and to provide a safe and welcoming environment where students, staff, and faculty
of the African diaspora can congregate, collaborate, and cultivate a unified community.
The BRC provides a space where we can reflect upon, honor, and celebrate our past
and present as well as plan for our future.
Learn more about the center. »
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