The Black Studies Program Regains Footing
Words and Photographs by Makeda Viechweg
After drama in the fall semester and in the midst of a decrease in black students and shortage of black professors, CCNY’s Black Studies program has struggled back to its feet. Earlier this month in Shepard Hall, Dr. Vanessa K. Valdes, the newly appointed director of Black Studies, hosted a town hall meeting to discuss the future of the program.
“My job,plain and simple, is to facilitate that our students graduate,” explained Dr.Valdes. “To that end, I am charged with making sure that our course offeringsmeet the standards of excellence that all of us as learners demand.”
Dr. Valdes, a professor in the department of Classical andModern Languages and Literatures for a decade, took over the Black StudiesProgram at the beginning of the spring semester after Dr. Cheryl Sterlingresigned in August. An executive committee of four faculty members took chargeof the program amid the chaos and confusion.
At the townhall meeting, Dr. Valdes stressed the need to put students first. “Making surethat [students] have what they need on this collegiate journey necessarilystrengthens the program,” she said.
BlackStudies major Jefrey Lewis is excited to see where the new director takes theprogram. “Dr. Valdes is amazing,” he said, “the passion she has is going tohelp drive the program in a great direction.”
Somestudents praised the intersectionality of choosing a director whose worktraverses the black and Latinx cultures. “Dr. Valdes will play an integral rolein the fusion of African awareness and cultures within the English and Spanishspeaking communities, offering support and unity in finding solutions to peopleof color,” said Christopher Henry, an Undergraduate Student Senator for theCollege of Liberal Arts. Last fall, Henry organized a Black Studies “Speak Out”to share ideas, concerns, and solutions on the state of affairs of the program.
“I am veryconfident in her type of leadership and awareness of the African community andthe African diasporic community,” added Henry, who served as the studentrepresentative in the selection of the new director.
Dr. Valdes also announced three days of events in April to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1969 takeover of CCNY. “The 1969 protests are what birthed the Black Studies and Latin American and Latino Studies programs here at CCNY,” she said. “Regular students - students your age - Black and Puerto Rican students alike, held the school accountable by demanding curricula that centered their histories and intellectual contributions to whole fields of knowledge.”
BlackStudies, Dr. Valdes believes, is integrate to the health of the college: “Thereis no realizing The City College of New York's mission of "advanc[ing] knowledgeand critical thinking, and foster[ing] research, creativity, and innovationacross academic, artistic, and professional disciplines without the success ofour program.”
For eventssponsored by the Black Studies, follow the program on Facebookand Twitter.
