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 protestors and the protestors
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 nearly 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 more than 50 years ago. In the same tradition, the 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
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.
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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.
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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 MoreWhy 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.
In Memoriam: Francis Njubi Nesbitt
With a deep sense of sadness and loss, we write to report on the death of one of our
own, Francis Njubi Nesbitt, Associate Professor of Africana Studies, who passed away
suddenly on May 31 at the age of 56.
Before joining us in the College of Arts and Letters in 2000, he worked as a reporter
and editor for the Daily Nation in Nairobi, as well as a reporter for papers in Seattle
and Springfield, Massachusetts. His first book, Race for Sanctions: African Americans
against Apartheid, 1946–1994, was published by Indiana University Press in 2004. This
study was described by the late American anthropologist and United States Ambassador
Elliott P. Skinner as “an important contribution to the political history of this
period [and] a must for those interested in the influence of the great pan-Africanists.”
In 2012, he published Politics of African Diasporas with Lambert Academic Publishing.
In addition to these monographs, he wrote articles and book chapters published in
a number of journals and scholarly volumes.
For Africana studies, Professor Nesbitt taught courses such as Intermediate Expository
Writing and Research Fundamentals, Black Political Participation in America, Political
Economy of the African Diaspora, and Modern Civil Rights Movement.
As a scholar, Professor Nesbitt was passionate about the subject of civil rights and
the struggle against apartheid. One of his goals was to hold a symposium titled “Coming
to Terms with Apartheid: Resistance, Legacy” at San Diego State University. He also
had plans to establish a center for the study of civil rights within the College of
Arts and Letters. He was an enthusiastic blogger and public intellectual, and his
public-facing work appeared in a number of fora.
Professor Nesbitt is survived by his wife of seven years, Teresa Nesbitt. She remembers
him with great love as “a good, kind man” and “a gentle soul.” She requests that in
lieu of flowers, donations be made to any society or organization dedicated to eradicating
disease. Professor Nesbitt’s ashes will be scattered at sea; there is no memorial
service planned.
Study Abroad: "Inequality and Activism in Brazil"
Learning will take place both inside and outside the classroom as we explore the Africana
experience in Brazil. Nearly 40% of African captives during the centuries long European
slave trade were destined for Brazil. Today, Brazil has the largest population of
African people outside of Africa. The largest concentration of African Brazilians
live in the state of Bahia.
