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The Center for African and African American Studies (acronym: the CAAAS, and commonly called “the Cause”) is the research, creative work, and programming division of the broader Black Studies community at the ��ɫ��Ƶ. Established in May 2021 by Dr. Reiland Rabaka, the CAAAS is the focal point for campus and community life grounded in, and growing out of the historical, cultural, spiritual, sociopolitical, economic, and artistic experiences of Africans, African Americans, and the African diaspora. After drafting the proposal for the Center and getting approval and funding for the CAAAS research and arts programs, Professor Rabaka worked with undergraduate student leaders Audrea Fryar, Ruth Woldemichael, Karia White, and Isaiah Chavous, who added an addendum to the CAAAS proposal advocating for a Black Student Services Program. The addendum led to the Black Student Services Program in the CAAAS between 2021 and 2025. In 2025 the Black Student Services Program moved over to the Division of Student Life and is currently housed within the Center for Cultural Connections & Community.

Bearing our overarching mission in mind, the CAAAS provides a network of integrated programs and events to promote the individual, cultural, social, mental, physical, and academic well-being of CU students conducting research in African, African American, and African diasporan studies. We help our community members explore African, African American, and African diasporan experiences in the United States, on the African continent, and throughout the African diaspora via cultural and community programs and events (including theater, dance, and music performances, as well as art exhibitions, panels, poetry readings, book signings, lectures, colloquia, conference travel, research trips, study abroad grants, Martin Luther King Day events, Juneteenth commemorations, Kwanzaa celebrations, Black History Month programs, Black Graduations, etc.). The CAAAS calls on every member of the university – student, staff, and faculty alike – to listen inward, to hear the deeper vibration of what it means to build the Beloved Community and live as a citizen of the world. It asks each to reckon with their own position in the long, ongoing chorus of struggle and possibility, to recognize that lovingkindness and fairness are not slogans but acts of creation and innovation.

Philosophical Foundation and Guiding Principles

Keeping our overarching mission in mind, the Center for African and African American Studies’ co-curricular and community-building programs and events are grounded in, and grow out of, a plethora of Pan-African (meaning, combined continental and diasporan African) concepts:

Sankofa: Knowledge, both historic and current, is power. Sankofa is a concept from the Akan culture of Ghana. It can be translated as: “it is not taboo to retrieve what is at risk of being lost or left behind.” The CAAAS uses knowledge from the African, African American, and African diasporan past to positively transform the African, African American, and African diasporan present and ensure the African, African American, and African diasporan future. 

Ubuntu: I am because we are. Ubuntu is derived from the Nguni/Ndebele cultures of southeastern Africa (Zimbabwe, Swaziland, and South Africa), and specifically the proverb: umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu (“a person is a person through other persons”). The CAAAS critically explores identity, builds community, and creates a sense of belonging through African, African American, and African diasporan culture on the Boulder campus, in the Boulder community, and beyond.

Nea Onnim: The principle and practice of lifelong learning. Nea Onnim is rooted in, and grows out of, the Akan proverb, “Nea onnim no sua a ohu,” which translates as, “When a person who does not know learns, they get to know,” they grow and can assist others in their growth. The CAAAS is a space where students, staff, faculty, alumni, artists, activists, allies, and community members can critically and systematically study the historical, cultural, spiritual, sociopolitical, economic, and artistic experiences of Africans, African Americans, and the African diaspora.

Kuumba: Creativity. Artistry. Innovation. The CAAAS embraces and encourages ingenuity and cultural expression in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics), as well as the literary, visual, and performing arts—and, indeed, in love and life in general. We seek to do as much as we can, in whatever way we can, to leave our campus, community, and culture more beautiful and beneficial than we inherited it.

Umoja: Unity. Harmony. Solidarity. The CAAAS strives for and maintains unity in the family, community, university, and, ultimately, all humanity. We are committed to Pan-Africanism/Black Internationalism and a world where diverse African, African American, and African diasporan lives, experiences, and cultures are respected, protected, and celebrated.