Diving into the new Anti-Black Racism minor

Since first being announced in spring 2023, the anti-Black racism minor will have 35 students in its introductory course to anti-Black racism.

In the wake of the dialogue surrounding racial injustice in 2020, following the deaths of Ahmaud Aubrey, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, University of Maryland faculty came together to create tangible solutions to address racism. The initiative was launched by the university’s College of Behavioral and Social Sciences. The push by BSOS became known as the Anti-Black Racism Initiative and subsequently led to the creation of the minor. 

Jeanette Snider, Ph.D., assistant research professor with the university’s Anti-Black Racism Initiative and adjunct professor at the Smith School of Business, sees the minor as a means to help students understand anti-black racism from an “intellectual perspective.” 

The minor’s academic plan begins with a common introductory course where students are introduced to a foundational understanding of anti-Black racism. Following the first course, students select from one of five tracks, each sponsored by a different college. Each track analyzes the impacts of anti-Black racism in the track’s respective societal institutions. Students will complete a final capstone that allows them to partner with a faculty member and explore anti-Black racism in their career field or area of interest. The capstone’s goal is to guide students towards finding solutions to anti-black racism present in the field. 

“It touches every major, every college across campus,” she said, priding the minor in its scope of education.

Diversity is not only present in the professors or the course content but also in the students in the classroom. 

“Most folks are from Maryland but we do have some from the south and different parts of the world. We have an exchange student from Germany,” Snider says, “Really rich conversations to hear about how they’re talking about these topics over there.”

It’s important to have diversity in such an environment, allowing for varied perspectives from not only professors but also students. 

“They’re sharing from their lived experience. They’re sharing painful moments,” Snider said, “At the end of the day, we want you to not only raise that awareness, but we want you to be a part of the solution.” 
Samuel Celentano, a senior sociology major, is currently taking the inaugural introductory course. He hopes to connect his future work in sociology to the information he learns in the class.

“I want to see different approaches on how we can combat anti-black racism,” Celentano said.

The class educates students on the pervasiveness of anti-black racism across numerous institutions.  

This semester, Celentano said the class has touched on concepts such as affirmative action, myths surrounding the BLM movement, the impact of the Great Depression on Black communities, colorism and Black art. Every few weeks, professors from departments across campus rotate and teach the introductory course subject. 

“I really implore people to take at least a class,” Celentano said. He added that he will not only use the information in his future career in sociology, but even in his personal relationships. “...you can understand how [racism] affects [others] and you can be better at helping them.”