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Boston University has announced its Center for Antiracist Research (CAR), which was founded in 2020 following the murder of George Floyd, will close on June 30, with founding director Ibram X. Kendi leaving to join Howard University in Washington, D.C.
Newsweek contacted Boston University and Ibram X. Kendi for comment on Friday via email outside of regular office hours.
Why It Matters
Following Donald Trump‘s election victory in November 2024, a number of major companies announced they were rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs including Walmart, Ford and Harley-Davidson.
Shortly after his inauguration on January 20, Trump signed an executive order shutting down DEI schemes across the federal government. Supporters argue DEI schemes are needed to combat institutionalized racism, whilst critics claim they threaten merit based hiring and can themselves be racist.
What To Know
Boston University revealed its CAR was shutting down in a statement released on Thursday, along with the departure of Kendi, a historian specializing in racism who wrote the 2019 book How to Be An Antiracist which became a best seller the following year.
According to the statement, the center currently has 12 staff members who are “receiving resources and support” after it was announced their employment would end on June 30.
In its statement, Boston University said it had hired Kendi in 2020 to open its CAR following “a string of killings of Black men and women in the United States, most notably the May 2020 murder of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis.”
It added: “The explosion of activism and interest on the subject led to several strong years of fundraising and research.”
However, the university also noted that in September 2023, “with public support having shifted and contributions waning,” the center “pursued a new strategy under Kendi” which “included eliminating 19 staff positions.” Kendi faced accusations of financial mismanagement, though an audit by Boston University found no evidence of wrongdoing.
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The murder of George Floyd, a Black man, by police officer Derek Chauvin in May 2020 sparked massive Black Lives Matter protests across the United States, leading in turn to a variety of companies and academic institutions launching new initiatives aimed at combatting racism and discrimination.
Howard University is a historically Black college in Washington, D.C. whose alumni includes former Vice President Kamala Harris, who delivered her 2024 presidential concession speech at the institution.
What People Are Saying
In a statement released by Boston University, Ibram X. Kendi said: “Despite all the headwinds we faced as a new organization founded during the pandemic and the intense backlash over critical race theory, I am very proud of all we envisioned, all we created, all we learned, all we achieved—the community we built, the people we helped and inspired.
“To all the faculty, staff, administrators, students, supporters, and Boston community members, I feel honored to have been able to do this work with you over the last five years. I am departing for an opportunity I could not pass up, but what connected us at CAR remains, especially during this precarious time. Our commitment to building an equitable and just society.”
What Happens Next
It is likely that companies and other institutions across the United States will continue to evaluate DEI initiatives and associated programs in light of strong hostility from the Trump administration. Whether this will be a blip, or create a “new normal” rolling back much of the change since 2020, remains to be seen.