The Black Studies Collaboratory Welcomes Nite Bjuti for Residency at UC Berkeley in March 2024

March 11, 2024

The Black Studies Collaboratory (BSC) is excited to announce Nite Bjuti’s upcoming artist residency in March 2024. Nite Bjuti, (pronounced “Night Beauty”), is a mesmerizing trio composed of Candice Hoyes, Val Jeanty, and Mimi Jones. This Afro Caribbean ensemble is renowned for their evocative improvisations, blending electronics, vocalism, bass, Haitian drum rhythms, sampling, and spoken word to craft a captivating narrative journey. From March 11 through 14, Nite Bjuti will participate in programming with the Department of African American Studies, including a guest class lecture. On Wednesday, March 13th at 7:30 pm, Nite Bjuti will share their work in a public performance at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA). The trio will also lead an interactive conversation on archives, sonic storytelling, and collaboration following their performance Tickets, free of charge, are required to attend and will be available starting Wednesday, February 14 at 11 am. Nite Bjuti’s residency in the Department of African American Studies at UC Berkeley promises to be a remarkable exploration of their unique artistic expression. Inspired by the centuries-old Haitian folklore of “Night Beauty,” Nite Bjuti delves into a world where a girl’s bones sing in her afterlife, her spirit seeking justice. The trio is celebrated for their exceptional contributions to the arts, having received the UMEZ Arts Engagement Grant for their 2022 mixed media installation, commissioned by the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. In 2020, they were honored with the NYC Women’s Fund in Jazz Music, fully funding their highly anticipated debut album, which was released in 2023. Please join us on March 13th at BAMPFA to experience Nite Bjuti!

Berkeley Talks: Michael Brown’s family on keeping his memory alive

August 25, 2023 | UC Berkeley Public Affairs

Rashad Arman Timmons, a fellow at UC Berkeley’s Black Studies Collaboratory, joins in conversation with the family of Michael Brown Jr., whose 2014 killing by police ignited a wave of protests across the country.

Listening to Rwandan Popular Music with Victoria Netanus Grubbs

August 7, 2023 | UC Berkeley Social Science Matrix

This episode of the Matrix Podcast features an interview with Victoria Netanus Grubbs, a Black feminist sound theorist and abolitionist educator. Victoria is currently the Black Studies Collaboratory Postdoctoral Fellow at UC Berkeley. She completed her PhD in the Department of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University in May 2021. Her current book project, Kumva Meze Neza: Sounding Blackness in Rwanda, examines how popular Rwandan music worked in the aftermath of genocide to produce a collective social body. Drawing on five years of participant observation among Rwandan music industry professionals and their audiences, her work demonstrates how shared investments in the sensory experience of Blackness produce formations of togetherness that defy traditional organizing categories.

The World-Building Potential of Black Studies

March 17, 2023 | Najmul Miah

In colleges and universities where African American or Black Studies programs exist, they are often interdisciplinary—integrating academic disciplines ranging from history and anthropology to the arts, and more. As a field unto itself, Black Studies is both nascent and revelatory: What Black Studies teaches us about Black life and liberation reveals deep insights into the American story writ large.

How the Black Studies Collaboratory is reimagining Black Studies through community engagement

November 10, 2022 | Michelle Phillips

When UC Berkeley’s African American Studies professors Leigh Raiford and Tianna Paschel launched the Black Studies Collaboratory (BSC) in 2021(link is external), their vision centered on creating a space for critical, joyful and generative engagement that would expand beyond the institution and into the surrounding community. “This is an opportunity to experiment with new forms of collaboration, engage in new conversations around freedom, justice, and joy, and to deepen our roots in the Bay Area,” said Paschel. Chancellor Carol Christ added, “The project will take this critical moment in our history as an invitation to reimagine African American Studies’ relationship to the institution of the university and in turn reimagine the institution’s relationship to its surrounding Black communities.” Now halfway into its three-year journey, the Black Studies Collaboratory has constructed creative and inclusive means to gather and mobilize artists, activists and scholars in service to the interdisciplinary, political, and world-building work of Black Studies.

The Black Studies Collaboratory Welcomes Second Cohort of Abolition Democracy Fellows

August 15, 2022 | The Black Studies Collaboratory

The Black Studies Collaboratory at UC Berkeley announces Abolition Democracy Fellows for the 2022-2023 academic year. Postdoctoral Fellows Dr. Peace And Love El Henson and Dr. Victoria Grubbs, and Elder in Residence Ms. Daphne Muse, continuing their positions from last year, will be joined by Dissertation Writing Fellows Caleb Dawson and Rashad Timmons; Activist in Residence Cat Brooks; Artist Fellows Antoine Hunter and Bryant Terry; and Archivist in Residence Lisbet Tellefsen.

Berkeley Talks: The performance of labor

March 28, 2022

In episode 134 of Berkeley Talks, Black feminist artists and cultural workers communally explore the questions of how the forms and methods of opera, surrealism, free jazz, poetry and dance help us communicate the concerns of radical Black feminisms.

A través del rap: grupo Krudxs Cubensi promueve el respeto y la inclusión

February 10, 2022 | Telemundo 48

El grupo Krudxs Cubensi, integrado Odaymar y Oli, busca a través del rap mover corazones, emociones y llamar a la libertad. Odaymar y Oli representan a la comunidad LGBTQ+ y se identifican como queers y feministas que defienden su causa. “Con el rap tu consigues un beat, escribes tus líricas, las pones juntas y ya es una manera asequible para la gente que no tiene mucho poder hacer la música”, explicaron.

Welcome Our Dissertation & Postdoc Abolition Democracy Fellows!

May 28, 2021 | The Black Studies Collaboratory

We are excited to support and learn from this talented and innovative group of interdisciplinary scholars each working at the leading edge of Black Studies

Hip Hop Duo Krudxs Cubensi Joins BSC as Artist Fellows

May 14, 2021 | The Black Studies Collaboratory

The Black Studies Collaboratory (BSC) at UC Berkeley is excited to announce that the Afro-Cuban queer feminist Hip Hop duo, Krudxs Cubensi, will join the Abolition Democracy Fellows program (ADFP) as Artist Fellows.

Welcome Zachary Norris: Our Inaugural Activist-in-Residence!

April 27, 2021 | The Black Studies Collaboratory

The Black Studies Collaboratory (BSC) at UC Berkeley is pleased to announce that Zachary Norris will take part in the Abolition Democracy Fellows Program as the first Activist-in-Residence.

Welcome Sadie Barnette: Our Inaugural Artist Fellow!

April 23, 2021 | The Black Studies Collaboratory

The Black Studies Collaboratory (BSC) at UC Berkeley is pleased to announce that Sadie Barnette will be the BSC inaugural Artist Fellow.

Welcome Daphne Muse: Our Inaugural Elder in Residence!

March 23, 2021 | The Black Studies Collaboratory

The Black Studies Collaboratory is honored to announce Ms. Daphne Muse as the inaugural Elder-in-Residence. Hosted under the Abolition Democracy Fellows Program

Berkeley, College of Letters and Science: UC Berkeley’s Department of African American Studies Awarded $2.8 Million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

January 18, 2021 | Berkeley Letters & Science

The Division of Social Sciences congratulates UC Berkeley African American Studies on this inspiring achievement.

Center for Education Partnerships: UC Berkeley’s African American Studies Department Receives $2.8M Grant

January 18, 2021 | Center for Educational Partners

UC Berkeley’s African American studies department was awarded a $2.8 million grant by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation on Dec. 11, 2020, to support an initiative led by the department’s faculty.

The Daily Californian: UC Berkeley’s African American studies department receives $2.8M grant

January 18, 2021 | The Daily Californian

UC Berkeley’s African American studies department was awarded a $2.8 million grant by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation on Dec. 11, 2020, to support an initiative led by the department’s faculty.

The Grio: UC Berkeley’s African American Studies Department awarded $2.8 million for community project

January 17, 2021 | The Grio

UC Berkeley’s African American Studies Department has received a $2.8 million grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to expand its community impact.

Yahoo: UC Berkeley’s African American Studies Department awarded $2.8 million for community project

January 17, 2021 | Yahoo!

“Black Studies Collaboratory,” a three-year project that is overseen by the department, is set to expand Black studies outside of the classroom to educate the community and general public. The project is led by professors Leigh Raiford and Tianna S. Paschel.

Berkeley News: Berkeley African American Studies awarded $2.8 million grant to expand community impact

January 15, 2021 | Berkeley News

What is the role of Black studies in building a more just future? What lessons from Black feminist, radical and intellectual traditions can we apply to this moment in history? And how do we solidify our commitment to Black studies as a public good?