As fall term begins, first-year Pitt students will be required to take a new course on anti-Black racism. The class, open to all students, is centered around the roots, ideology and resistance to anti-Black racism.

This year marks a celebration of the 100th annual Lantern Night, and like many events, it looks a little different this year. But this isn’t the first time the tradition has evolved.

Robin Brooks, assistant professor of Africana Studies, is co-editing a journal issue that looks at protests, violence and COVID-19 through the lens of Black female literary giants. Members of the Pitt community and beyond are encouraged to submit work for the issue by July 31.

Yesterday’s latest town hall, hosted by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion in partnership with the Office of Health Sciences Diversity, featured an expert panel discussion of systemic racism, capitalism and the history of inequity and social justice in the U.S. Read a recap or watch the video.

Vernell A. Lillie, a former associate professor of Africana Studies, founder of Pitt’s Kuntu Repertory Theatre and vanguard member of the Black Arts Movement at Pitt and beyond, has died at 89.

The Emma W. Locke Award winner is Sarah Steward and the Omicron Delta Kappa Senior of the Year Award winner is Jordan Fields.

The Department of Africana Studies’ history of community-building and fostering critical conversations makes it an especially salient major for students wishing to tackle tough issues today. The new chair, Yolanda Covington-Ward, wants more people to know about it.

Born of a lunchtime conversation among three women faculty members and sponsored by multiple units on campus, the upcoming “Black to the Future” festival will showcase artistic talent, resilience and innovation.

Zuri Kent-Smith: forward-thinking, charismatic, passionate and unapologetic. Through his activism on campus and off, the senior philosophy and Africana studies major leaves his mark on Pitt.

The January event, held on the 50th anniversary of the sit-in, included a candlelight procession recreating the march from the student union to the Cathedral and a ceremony passing the mantle of Black Action Society leadership from one generation to the next.