Center for Black Studies

Center for Black Studies

Southern Miss was desegregated in 1965 when Raylawni Branch and Gwendolyn Elaine Armstrong became the first African American students enrolled at the University. More than fifty years of progress is evident in the wide-ranging programming, research, teaching, and service activities organized and supported by the Center for Black Studies.

Digital Archives

Student Spotlight

Journalist Alumna Takes on History to Tell Stories of Black People  For Alyssa Bass, ’20, Black Studies emphasized the importance of learning history, framing Black people as change agents, and recognizing everyone in the African Diaspora. Read Alyssa's Q&A

 

Public Forums

Since its establishment in 2005, the Center for Black Studies has sponsored programs featuring scholars, creative artists, and community activists as guest lecturers on wide-ranging topics relevant to the study of Black people and race relations in general.

In the wake of the recent deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, the Centers for Black Studies and for the Study of the Gulf South co-sponsored online panel discussions to bolster social justice activism on campus, in the wider Hattiesburg community and throughout the state. Most recent forums include:

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The Unheard Word Join us in commemorating the 30th anniversary of The Unheard Word, a publication created for Black students at Southern Miss and circulated between fall 1990 and spring 1993. Dr. Riva Brown, founder of The Unheard Word, produced this project with the support of the Center for Black Studies and assistance from the Southern Miss Association of Black Journalists (SMABJ). Explore the Features Volume IVolume IIPanel