The state of Black studies, post-D.E.I.

Think from KERA · Apr 23, 2026 · 45m

Schools around the country are shuttering their Black studies departments—often without regulatory prompting. Jafari S. Allen is a professor of African American and African diaspora studies at Columbia University. He joins host Krys Boyd to discuss why schools, now admitting less Black students than before DEI crackdowns, are blaming low enrollment for shutting down these departments, and why these cuts are often preemptive, before any penalties are incurred. His article “The Erasure of Black Studies” was published in The Chronicle of Higher Education.

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