UPDATED
ANALYSIS: The Center for Antiracist Research does not do research – or really anything
There has been no apparent activity at Ibram Kendi’s Center for Antiracist Research in the past year, according to a College Fix review of his website.
Kendi launched the center in 2020 to “use the blocks of thoughtful and exhaustive public scholarship to build an antiracist future for America,” but laid off half of its staff last year amid a shift to a fellowship model, resulting in a decline in visible activity.
While The Emancipator, a digital magazine connected to the center, continues to regularly publish stories, other initiatives listed on its website have not been recently updated. The Emancipator is “housed within” the center but has its own advisory board, which includes Kendi.
The College Fix sent two emails to Tami Nguyen, the center’s senior communications specialist, in the last three weeks, inquiring about several specific projects that have not been updated in months or years, if there will be a 2024-25 cohort of research affiliates, and the future of the Center for Antiracist Research. Nguyen has not yet responded to the requests for comment.
Boston University’s media relations team has not responded to similar questions and requests for comment via email and voicemail.
There is no clear proof that fellowships or anything like that are in the works. “We are growing! If you are passionate about antiracism and dedicated to our mission, we want to work with you! Check out our open roles below,” the “Career Opportunities” page lists. There are no currently open roles.
A 2023 cohort of interdisciplinary research and policy teams is listed on the center’s website, but a 2024 cohort is not. Similarly, 2023-24 research affiliates are listed, but 2024-25 affiliates are not, with the website not saying when the next application period will begin.
A student internship is listed on the website, but the application form has been closed since before May 2023. The application portal for the center’s Scholar in Practice Postdoctoral Fellowship also closed in 2023, and there are no current job openings at the center.
The Fix contacted five of the 2023-24 research affiliates via email inquiring about their experience with the center and the future of the research affiliate program, but received no responses.
After publication of this article, one affiliate did respond who said they were accepted but never heard further from the center and didn’t know they were on the website until The Fix inquiry.
The university audited the center last year after the layoffs were announced and multiple former employees criticized Kendi’s leadership. However, the auditors “concluded that CAR’s financial management of its grants and gifts was appropriate.”
Kendi has previously said some initiatives that had been pursued by the center, such as creating a graduate program in antiracist studies, will not be completed. Additionally, the center’s social media accounts have only posted content related to The Emancipator since March.
The COVID Racial Data Tracker ceased collecting data in March 2021, while the most recent COVID Stories were published two years ago. The latest post on the Antiracist Tech Initiative blog was from August 2023, as was the most recent update from the Racial Data Lab.
On a page titled “What We’re Working On,” nothing is listed from this year.
No policy reports or convenings have been published since 2022, and no amicus briefs have been submitted by the center since 2023. The Model Legislation Project also has not been updated this year.
The Antiracist Legal Education Project advertises an event from September 2023 as “upcoming,” while the annual Antiracist Book Festival was not held in 2023 or 2024.
A Vertex Symposium, which is also described as an annual event, has not occurred since 2022.
Kendi has previously made large promises only to have them fall through, as previously reported by The College Fix and The Washington Free Beacon.
Furthermore, his “antiracist book festival” did not feature a proportional amount of Hispanic and Asian males according to his antiracism principles, a Fix analysis found.
Most of the staff he laid off after the fallout last year were racial minorities, a Fix analysis previously found.
Editor’s note: The article has been updated with additional comment from a research affiliate.
MORE: Ibram Kendi hasn’t published a new paper in 4 years, 2023 analysis finds
IMAGE: Face the Nation/YouTube
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