Headline Roundup • January 31st, 2025
Ibram X. Kendi Leaves Boston University’s ‘Antiracist’ Center for Howard University
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Activist and writer Ibram X. Kendi announced he will be leaving Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research (CAR). He will reportedly be joining a new institute at Howard University focused on researching African diaspora, calling it the “most fulfilling career choice” he’s ever made.
For Content: Kendi opened Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research in 2020, amidst the prevalent Black Lives Matter protests following the murder of George Floyd. The center will be closing once its charter expires at the end of June.
Key Quote: “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,” Kendi remarked.
How the Media Covered It: Outlets on the right focused more on CAR closing and surrounding controversies, with some implying causation. National Review News (Lean Right bias) stated, “Kendi said [major] layoffs were part of a strategy to keep the center running in the long term. That strategy ultimately failed, as made evident by its announced closure this week.” Outlets on the left more often highlighted Kendi’s new venture in joining Howard, a historically-black university (HBCU). Newsweek (Center) pointed to recent rollbacks in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts throughout the United States.
Featured Coverage of this Story
Activist author Ibram X. Kendi is leaving Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research, which will close in June.
Kendi was hired by BU to open the center in 2020 following George Floyd’s killing at the hands of police. He gained renown with his book, How to Be an Antiracist.
“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,”...
KEREM YUCEL/AFP/GETTY
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 Ibram X. Kendi for comment on Friday via email outside of regular office hours.
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...
Historian and writer Ibram X. Kendi, who gained prominence for his studies of anti-racism and founded a center focused on the subject at Boston University, plans to join the faculty of Howard University later this year.
Kendi, author of the bestseller “How to Be an Antiracist,” will start a new institute focusing on the global African diaspora at Howard, the prominent historically Black institution in the nation’s capital.
In an interview, Kendi said he has long been pulled to Howard, where Black thought leaders have long driven national conversation and advanced...
