UK university’s axing of black studies MA has ‘dangerous parallel’ with US, says academic

A leading US civil rights scholar has urged Birmingham City University (BCU) to reverse its decision to close its black studies course, comparing it to the attack on diversity, equity and inclusion in the US. Kimberlé Crenshaw, a professor of law at the University of California, Los Angeles and Columbia University, expressed “profound concern” about plans to withdraw the MA in black studies and global justice, just months after the course was launched. In a statement shared on social media during her UK book tour, Crenshaw called the decision an “escalating assault on black studies” and an “ideological, extremist-led campaign that has now explicitly travelled across the Atlantic”. Crenshaw said: “The systematic dismantling of black studies in the United States is mirroring a dangerous parallel in the United Kingdom, where the discipline now faces the threat of total erasure. “It remains absolutely essential that the truth regarding the history, contributions, perspectives and lived experiences of black people in Britain and across the global diaspora is preserved, taught and championed.” She described black studies as an “essential space of critical inquiry” and said the community built around the subject at BCU was “globally renowned”. The course is due to be withdrawn from September after a review of the university’s postgraduate portfolio. BCU has said the decision was driven by low student recruitment, with just eight students currently enrolled on the course. …