Resources

Racial Equity Tools: Glossary
Words and their multiple uses reflect the tremendous diversity that characterizes our society. Indeed, universally agreed upon language on issues relating to racism is nonexistent. We discovered that even the most frequently used words in any discussion on race can easily cause confusion, which leads to controversy and hostility. It is essential to achieve some degree of shared understanding, particularly when using the most common terms. In this way, the quality of dialogue and discourse on race can be enhanced.

Fall 2023: Classes to Take

African American & Black Diaspora Studies

2023 Course Listing

CAS AA 103: Introduction to African American Literature with Maryanne Boelcskevy

Tuesday, Thursdays, 9:00am-12:30pm

CAS AA 296: Religion and Hip Hop with Margarita Guillory

Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, 10:10am-11:00am

CAS AA 319: Race and the Politics of Criminal Justice Policy with Spencer Piston

Tuesdays, Thursdays, 12:30pm-1:45pm

CAS AA 371: African American History with Paula Austin

Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, 11:15am-12:05pm

CAS AA 591: Black Thought: Literary and Cultural Criticism in the African Diaspora with Louis Chude-Sokei

Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, 1:25pm-2:15pm

English

CAS EN 452: Asian American Studies: Theory and Methods with Takeo Rivera

Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, 10:10am-11:00am

Political Science

CAS PO 330: Special Topics in Comparative Politics, Section W1: Democracy and Protest in the Global South with Marcus Walton

Tuesdays & Thursdays, 2:00pm-3:15pm

Sociology

CAS SO 207: Sociology of Race and Ethnicity – Professor TBD

(meets with AA 207)

Tuesdays & Thursdays, 3:30pm-4:45pm

CAS SO 317: Gender and Crime with Sarah Miller

Thursdays, 12:30 pm-3:15 pm

CAS SO 335: Sociology of Race, Class & Gender with Saida Grundy (Spring)

Tuesdays, 12:30pm-3:15pm

Women's Gender and Sexuality Studies

CAS WS 347: Feminist Inquiry with Sandra McEvoy

Thursdays, 3:30pm-6:15pm

BU Resources

Department Resources

How to Grow Abolition on Your Campus (from African American Studies)
The Center for Antiracist Research: Affiliated Researchers (find professors and grad students who are involved with anti-racist research at BU)

Student Group Resources

UMOJA: BU's Black Student Union
Q: BU's Queer Activist Collective
- Allies & Accomplices: Moving Beyond the Fear of Accountability (from a training event held by Q and BU Student Government)
Asian Student Union
Minority Connection Initiative ("The Drop")
BU PhD Student Coalition
BU Students for Justice in Palestine

Additional BU Anti-Racist Resources

Gender Non-Conforming Resource

Practicing Gender Inclusion in CAS Learning Environments

Literary Resources

*Disclaimer: read this article from The Atlantic about why reading anti-racist work is only the first step to activism. If you have a recommendation for our list, please send us an email with the title of the work.

AUTOBIOGRAPHY

American Indian Stories by Zitkala-Ša
Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza by Gloria E. Anzaldúa
Zami: A New Spelling of My Name by Audre Lorde
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
Citizen: An American Lyric by Claudia Rankine
How to Write an Autobiographical Novel: Essays by Alexander Chee
Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson
Redefining Realness: My Path to Womanhood, Identity, Love & So Much More by Janet Mock

NONFICTION

The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health by Rheeda Walker
My Grandmother’s Hands: Racialized Trauma and the Pathway to Mending Our Hearts and Bodies by Resmaa Menakem
The Warm of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi
Sister Outsider by Audre Lorde
Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower by Brittney Cooper
Women, Race and Class by Angela Davis

FICTION/PROSE

Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
The Bluest Eyes by Toni Morrison
The End of White Supremacy, An American Romance by Saidiya Hartman
Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi
The City We Became by N. K. Jemisin

POETRY

Collection of poems by Langston Hughes
Don’t Call Us Dead: Poems by Danez Smith
American Sonnets for My Past and Future Assassin by Terrance Hayes
Olio by Tyehimba Jess
Coal by Audre Lorde

Social Media Resources

*Disclaimer: we have assembled these lists as resources for exploration rather than as direct endorsements of these individuals/organizations. If you have a recommendation for our list, please send us an email with the Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter handle.

ORGANIZATIONS

Instagram

INDIVIDUALS

Instagram

Twitter

Decolonization Resources

Food Sovereignty & Dining in Boston

Indigenous Peoples & Nations

Native-Land.ca (use this resource to find out which Indigenous peoples lived on the land you occupy now)
Landback Manifesto
Communism is the Horizon, Queer Indigenous Feminism is the Way (by The Red Nation)