The College of Arts and Sciences supports the Annual Lecture Series on African American, Black Diaspora, and Global Black Lives to promote knowledge building, dialogue, and understanding about Black life in the Americas and beyond. The aim of this annual lecture series is to bring to campus scholars, activists, artists, and cultural workers who work on significant themes related to the Black diaspora or Black global life.In 2023, the college funded two series under the Global Black Lives rubric.

“Tackling the Challenge of Anti-Black Racism: Building Sustainable Collaborations Between STEM and the Humanities” featured four speakers, each of whom illustrated specific scholarly techniques, experiences, and findings that exemplify the need for an interdisciplinary approach to the challenge of racism and the radical possibilities that can stem from integrating these traditionally incongruous approaches.

“The African-Caribbean Intersectional Engagement Series” explores global perspectives for understanding the ways in which geographies and histories shape issues associated with identities such as race, gender, and sexuality. The first speaker in the series was the international scholar and activist Taitu Heron, who presented a global view of modern feminism.