Since its founding nearly 50 years ago, faculty and staff in UNM’s Africana Studies program have wished for full department status. A pending expansion will be helpful, but there is still work to be done.
Robert Jefferson, director of Africana Studies, said the creation of a new, state-of-the-art facility, which began last month and is chalked to finish early next year, is a sign of growth and prosperity for the program.
“The construction of the research hall shows our capacity to grow as a program,” he said.
With the growth, Jefferson is hopeful Africana Studies will be transitioning to a departmental status, which was one of his initial goals as program director.
Becoming a department isn’t just a goal for Jefferson. Since its founding in 1969, Africana Studies has been striving to achieve department status, as outlined by the original program proposal.
“The Black Studies program is to become a degree-granting program within the University as a permanent autonomous department within one of the existing colleges,” states the original program proposal, written by Barbara Brown-Simmons in 1969.
Some believe the research hall, which will overlook campus from the fourth floor of Mesa Vista Hall, still falls short of long-held goals.
“The lack of progress toward becoming a department is astounding,” said Jamal Martin, a faculty member in Africana Studies.
Some students in the program are equally frustrated that more hasn’t been done to achieve department status in the almost half-century that it has been in existence.
“We’ve been asking the same question for years now,” said Nakia Russ, junior psychology and Africana Studies double major. “Why aren’t we a department? Why isn’t Africana Studies a department?”
Russ said she feels the absence of an Africana Studies department makes it more likely for others to gloss over her major in the program, rendering a portion of her academic resume obsolete.
One step toward transitioning to departmental status was taken in 2015, when Jefferson and a cohort of colleagues conducted a self-study of the program.
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In the study, a plan was outlined to hire more faculty over the next four years. Along with new hiring, the review outlined goals to expand the classes available both traditionally and online, Jefferson said.
Campus and community outreach were also top priorities in the strategic plan, he said.
Martin said he believes connecting the community with the research and work Africana Studies does will give rise to more support and enrollment, as well as, at the most foundational of levels, increasing student interest in the program, which will go a long way towards determining its long-term future.
Martin also noted the importance of Africana Studies not only at UNM, but for a state which prides itself on diversity and a variety of cultures.
“This is a program that can help inform policymakers about the needs and wants of African American people,” he said.
Jefferson emphasized how crucial the program is in supporting African American students not only on campus, but in the local community and nationwide.
“The fate of the program is inextricably related to what’s happening to African American students on campus,” he said.
Russ said seeing Africana Studies become a department is her dream. To accomplish her goal, Russ wants to garner community support and start influencing change.
“I would love to say we did this, that we got the community involved and the support we needed to become a department,” she said.
Martin believes change will start with students, not faculty or administration.
“If it weren’t for students, a program like this wouldn’t exist,” he said. “Change comes when people who seemingly don’t have power work to change.”
Brendon Gray is a news reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @notgraybrendon.
