Black Studies, UC Berkeley

Event Recap: On April 16, 2026, Leigh Raiford gave a book talk for their newly released book “When Home is a Photograph” at the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA), in discussion with Delphine Sims. When reflecting on archiving Black Panther Party member Kathleen Cleaver’s personal collection of photographs through family photo albums, Raiford shares: “How we touch images, and they spark stories, and sometimes we are repeating those stories or we tell the stories with a little difference, it is a form of narration.” Raiford’s analysis of the quotidian images reveals an attention to the everyday ways that Black activists and artists make use of photographs to produce a method of Black digital storytelling .

Happy RRR Week, Berkeley! As we reflect on the semester and prepare for the final stretch, we are taking a moment to look back at the incredible community and creative energy from the Donte Clark Blú Honey Poetry Workshop and Film Screening, presented as part of the Digital Black Storytelling Fellowship’s Brown Bag Luncheon Series! Throughout this term, the fellowship has been dedicated to centering powerful verse, moving visual storytelling, and rich discussions that celebrate community resilience. Thank you to @donblak , all the brilliant participants, and everyone who joined us in celebrating Richmond’s creative community! Swipe through the carousel to see highlights from the workshop and stay tuned for more highlights from the semester

Have you purchased your tickets yet?! @moadsf In partnership with @cacollegeofarts @calblackstudies and supported by CommonSpirit and KHR Family Foundation, we have designed three exciting days that bring our academic and artistic communities into direct conversation with art lovers and novices alike. Join us for conversations, activations and the opportunity to learn together. Link to tickets is in my bio. Become a member for deeply discounted tickets! #engageatmoad #moadengage #calblackstudies

May 7, 2026 | 9:00 - 6:00 pm | David Brower Center Walls Turned Sideways: Bridges in Black Study: St. Clair Drake Symposium Program Swipe to see the full program! 9:00-9:15am Breakfast and Registration 9:15-9:30am Opening Remarks 9:30- 10:55am Undergraduate Honors Scholars From the VèVè A. Clark Institute for Engaged Scholars of African American Studies 11:05- 12:30pm Black Visuality, Embodiment, and Performance 12:30-1:15pm Lunch 1:20-2:30pm Black Visual Cultures Graduate Working Group (In Defense of Black Studies, Small Grants Program) 2:40 - 3:40pm Mistaking the Map for Territory: Seeing-Sideways Through the Criticality of Black Geographic Thought 3:45-5:00pm A Conversation with Alumni from the VèVè A. Clark Institute for Engaged Scholars of African American Studies 5:05- 5:20pm Symposium Closing Remarks 6:00-8:00pm Building our Future: Celebrating 15 Years of the Clark Scholars Institute African American Studies Alumni and Donor Appreciation Reception For more information and to RSVP visit events.berkeley.edu/africam/event/2026-st-clair-drake. The Department of African American & African Diaspora Studies, University of California, Berkeley. For any questions please email [email protected]. If you have any accessibility needs to fully participate in this event, please contact African American Studies at [email protected] or 510-642-7084. [Image] San Francisco Call Bulletin (July 06, 1965), Views of protesters marching down a sidewalk, The San Francisco News-Call Bulletin Newspaper Photograph Archive. Via The Bancroft Library.

Calling all alumni, donors, and supporters of African American Studies at UC Berkeley! Please join our community for our third annual reception celebration. Presented in partnership with UC Berkeley Alumni Relations, UC Berkeley Social Sciences Dean’s Office, and the Cal Black Alumni Association. Building our Future: Celebrating 15 Years of the Clark Scholars Institute Alumni and Donor Appreciation Reception May 7, 2025 6:00 - 8:00 pm David Brower Center 2150 Allston Way, Suite 100 Berkeley Join us to celebrate our achievements and honor our supporters! RSVP: events.berkeley.edu/africam/event/2026-reception, link in bio! Accessibility coordinator: Barbara Montano [email protected] 510-664-4324

We are excited to announce the return of ENGAGE! A THREE DAY convening of dialogue, learning, and curated programs featuring keynote speaker Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein and more. From May 28 to May 30, ENGAGE! brings together scholars, artists, performers, curators, and scientists for a dynamic gathering of conversation and activations. Inspired by UNBOUND: Art, Blackness & the Universe, curated by Key Jo Lee (@keyjolee ), the convening invites us to reimagine Blackness as infinite and cosmically rich. Featuring artists Michi Meko (@michimeko ), Oasa DuVerney (@oasasun ), and Rodney Ewing (@ledette ), with activations at Museum of the African Diaspora. Co-presented with California College of the Arts (@cacollegeofarts ) and in collaboration with UC Berkeley Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies (@calblackstudies ). Learn more and GET YOUR TICKETS today (link-in-bio). #UNBOUND #ArtAndScience #BlackFutures #MoAD #ENGAGE

Great to see the homies @drcrazyness & @petrariverarideau today at CAL ✨💯✨Go check out their book! P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance #pfknrbook #pfknr🇵🇷 Sponsor(s): African American Studies @calblackstudies Ethnomusicology Program, Department of Music Global superstar Bad Bunny, born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, like many other Puerto Ricans, has lived a life marked by crises—blackouts, hurricanes, political corruption and oppression, among others—that have exposed the ongoing impacts of colonialism in Puerto Rico. Offering a portrait of the past and future of Puerto Rican resistance through one of its loudest and proudest voices, P FKN R draws on interviews with musicians, politicians, and journalists as well as ethnographic research to set Bad Bunny and Puerto Rican resistance in an historical, political, and cultural context. Authors Vanessa Díaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau—creators of the “Bad Bunny Syllabus”—demonstrate Bad Bunny’s place in a long tradition of infusing joy and protest into music and honor the many, evolving forms of daily resistance to oppression and colonialism that are part of Puerto Rican life. Speaker: Petra Rivera-Rideau, Associate Professor, American Studies, Wellesley College Speaker: Vanessa Díaz, Associate Professor, Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies, Loyola Marymount University

Join us on April 29th from 1:00–2:00 PM for our Brown Paper Bag Conversation, “Anti-Blackness & AI: The Algorithm as the Scene of Violence”, (lunch will be provided!). Location: Erskine A. Peters Reading Room (Room 675 Social Sciences Building) RSVP: Link in Bio! While AI is often marketed as a “neutral” tool for convenience, the data and logic behind it often perpetuate anti-Black violence. This workshop explores how AI creates harmful representations and impacts the real-world lives of Black communities, as well as the creative ways in which Black visionaries across the diaspora are redefining the role of AI in their communities. Our guest facilitator is Willie Macharia, a software engineer and Master of Information Management and Systems candidate at UC Berkeley’s School of Information. He leads the Nairobi AI Community, running AI literacy cohorts across Nairobi, Lagos, and Johannesburg. At the core of his work, he asks: Who gets to build the systems that carry our stories, and which stories get amplified when AI is not inclusive? If you have any accessibility needs to fully participate in this program, please contact: [email protected] / 510-664-4324.

Library Pop Up April 28, 3pm-5pm 675 Social Sciences Building Erskine A. Peters Reading Room Join us for Black books, Caribbean food, and community! Register: atbit.ly/ucbpopup, link in bio! If you have any questions about accessibility, please contact Barbara Montano at [email protected] or 510-664-4324. Art: The Entrance Place of Wonders: Poems of the Harlem Renaissance | Selected by Daphne Muse; Illustrated by Charlottle Riley-Webb.

We are happy to officially introduce our In Defense of Black Studies: Black Digital Storytelling Team! In a moment where Black Studies is under sustained attack—from the defunding of Critical Race Theory initiatives to the dismantling of doctoral programs—this work is a vital mechanism of resistance. We view our work as a diasporic tapestry: a living fabric woven from the threads of ancestral wisdom, communal memory, and digital innovation. Rooted in the lineage of Griots, world-builders, healers, and world-shatterers, this project highlights how Black storytelling, as an evolving practice, allows us to question normalized violence and counter the narratives that seek to flatten Black histories and material realities. As part of the department’s In Defense of Black Studies initiatives, our undergraduate fellows—supported by graduate researcher—seek to turn actionable theory into a living archive, and amplify the interventions our department offers in the face of genocide, state-sanctioned violence, and dispossession. Beyond resistance, this project is a space for collective healing: using our stories to mend what has been ruptured and nurture the wellness of our community. Follow along as we weave new truths and push the boundaries of reality-making alongside the community partners integral to this work! #InDefenseOfBlackStudies #UCBerkeley #DigitalStorytelling #DiasporicTapestry #BlackStudies”

Don’t miss it! When Home is a Photograph: Leigh Raiford in Conversation with Delphine Sims. Today! April 16, 2025| 4:30pm Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) 2155 Center Street, Berkeley Join us in celebration of Leigh Raiford new publication with a book signing to follow, sponsored by the Department of African American Studies at UC Berkeley.

P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance April 24, 2026 | 12:00 - 1:30 pm 650 Social Sciences Building, UC Berkeley Authors and creators of the “Bad Bunny Syllabus,” Vanessa Díaz and Petra Rivera-Rideau, explore Puerto Rican resistance through the lens of Bad Bunny’s music in their new book, “P FKN R.” This talk will examine how the superstar blends joy and protest amidst ongoing colonial challenges. Organized by the Department of African American Studies. RSVP via: events.berkeley.edu/africam. For additional information and/or accessibility needs, contact: Barbara Montano at [email protected] or 510-664-4324.