ISU AFRI

05/11/2024

We congratulate all the students graduating from ISU tomorrow! To our AFRI Majors and Minors, we are so proud of you and hope you will stay in touch.

Many thanks and much praise to Dr. Tiffany Reed, Professor Azizi Arrington-Slocum, Mr. Ardell Sanders, and the incredible staff of the Charles E. Brown African American Cultural Center for the joyous celebration they made possible at Black Congratulatory tonight! We are especially grateful that AFRI Major Zinyetta Morgan was celebrated. She is greatly admired and deeply missed.

Congrats again to all the graduates!

04/22/2024

Many of you know we are mourning the loss of our incredible student Zinyetta Morgan. We hope you will join us as we celebrate this amazing young woman’s short but impactful life.

09/15/2023

Great turnout at the first Young, Gifted, and Black meeting of the Fall ‘23 semester!

06/04/2023

Day 2 in Ghana included a visit to Aburi Botanical Garden outside of Accra. Students learned about several indigenous plants and some of the plants introduced by British colonizers.

06/02/2023

When you travel with students, you learn a lot about them. On Day 1 in Ghana, we learned that our students love to shop and we learned that many of them
are natural performers! The first pictures show several of the students meeting with Jane, a skilled seamstress/designer who brought an amazing array of cloth for students to pick from and order dresses, skirts, and shirts to be made just for them. That evening, several ISU students were pulled up on stage to dance during our dinner at Chez Afrique. With Charles E. Brown African American Cultural Center of ISU

06/01/2023

On May 16, AFRI and the Charles E. Brown African American Cultural Center of ISU embarked on a trip to Ghana as part of our celebration of 50 years of AFRI and the Cultural Center. Dr. Tiffany Reed, Dr. Aaron Slocum, and Dr. Andrea Arrington-Sirois led the group of 17 students on the 12 day trip. Over the next week, we will share some of our favorite pictures from the trip!

These are a couple of pictures from our layover in that Amsterdam airport. Students relaxed, shopped, ate, and mastered a TikTok dance.

11/14/2022

Young scholars in action!

Students in Dr. Arrington-Sirois’s AFRI 351/HIST 498 Modern Africa class are working with the Africa News collection housed in ISU’s Special Collections as they learn more about Africa in the late 20th century.

11/04/2022

Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor

11/04/2022

Join us on Monday, 11/7 @ 4:00 in the lower level of the Charles E. Brown African American Cultural Center for Dr. Olivia Uzodima Ekeh's presentation on Envisioning Black Future(s) through the music of Jimi Hendrix and Solange! All are welcome!

10/14/2022

So pleased that Viver Brasil, here to help us celebrate the 50th anniversary of AFRI and the Charles E. Brown African American Cultural Center, was able to spend time with local elementary school students!

Ben Franklin Elementary students clapped to the rhythm of drums and joyfully danced from their seats Monday during a visit from professional dance company Viver Brasil, which specializes in Afro-Brazilian

10/10/2022

Don't forget to check out this week's public events with Viver Brasil as the African and African American Studies Program (AFRI) and the Charles E. Brown African American Cultural Center celebrate our 50th anniversary at ISU! Special thanks to Dr. Colleen Haas for her tireless work on this exciting programming!

Tuesday, 10/11: Public Dance Workshop @ 7:00 in Dance Studio in the College of Health and Human Services Building

Wednesday, 10/12: "Ancestralidade- Ancestry and Spirituality in the Carnaval of Salvador, Bahia: Resistance in Motion" @ 3:00 in the Events Area of the Cunningham Memorial Library

Wednesday, 10/12: "Session with the Elders, Creatives, and Caring Adults in the Black Community" @ 6:30 at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church

Thursday, 10/13: Public Performance by Viver Brasil, featuring ISU students @ 7:00 in the University Hall Auditorium

09/28/2022

Happy 50th to AFRI and the Charles E. Brown African American Cultural Center! We are excited to start our year long celebration with multiple performances and activities with Viver Brasil.