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Here is Abby Patkin at Boston.Com:
Following news of mass layoffs and an official inquiry into Ibram X. Kendi’s Center for Antiracist Research at Boston University, the famed author is pushing back on allegations of mismanagement from current and former employees.Â
After laying off 19 of the center’s 36 staff members last week, Kendi told The Boston Globe in an interview that the reorganization was strategic and not tied to financial solvency.
“This was a tough decision and of course it elicited a lot of strong opinions,” Kendi told the newspaper. “At the same time, I had to take the long view to ensure that the center would be impactful and sustainable 20, 50 years from now, particularly in a moment when racial justice organizations, and social justice organizations more broadly, are under serious attack.”
He explained that the layoffs represent the center’s shift from a “high-growth startup” pursuing a plethora of projects to “the world’s first residential fellowship program for antiracist intellectuals,” a less costly model that stretches the center’s funding further, the Globe reported.
Following the layoffs, Boston University — where Kendi launched the center in June 2020 — confirmed it received complaints about the organization’s culture and grant management. The university said it is looking at both angles as part of its inquiry into the Center for Antiracist Research.
Boston.com reached out to Kendi and the center for comment on the inquiry; neither has responded.
The university’s interim president, Kenneth W. Freeman, addressed the controversy in an interview with BU Today, explaining that the employee complaints involved “project and center management, meaning, was the Center sufficiently productive in terms of the research grants it received, and did the Center’s management afford its people the appropriate support and respect for their contributions?”
Kendi defended the center’s track record in his interview with the Globe.
“We’ve been able to develop a number of projects,” Kendi told the newspaper. “But more so than anything, we’ve been able to begin to allow for other scholars and intellectuals to recognize the importance of antiracist research on a college campus.”
According to the Globe, the center has contributed funding to numerous research projects, launched the online newspaper The Emancipator, drafted model legislation, and organized two “policy convenings” on antibigotry and racial and ethnic data collection. Still, the Globe noted, key projects like a graduate degree program and a national Racial Data Tracker have yet to materialize.Â
According to the Globe, the center has contributed funding to numerous research projects, launched the online newspaper The Emancipator, drafted model legislation, and organized two “policy convenings” on antibigotry and racial and ethnic data collection. Still, the Globe noted, key projects like a graduate degree program and a national Racial Data Tracker have yet to materialize.Â
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