Department of African American Studies

College of Humanities and Sciences

Current StudentsGive

Events

Flyer advertising the Screening of KEMBA, 10/21/26

KEMBA Film Screening & Q&A

Date: Wednesday, Oct 21, 2026

The Department of African American Studies will host a viewing and discussion of the film KEMBA. This film details the true story of Kemba Pradia Smith, sentenced to 24 years in prison for crimes committed by her boyfriend. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Kemba herself, who now serves as a Criminal Justice Reform Advocate, Virginia Humanities HBCU Fellow, Author, Executive Producer, and former Virginia Parole Board Member

Annual Events

Our department hosts several regular events throughout the year, including our Gabriel Summer Institute. Please view below for links on our annual events as they are developed!

Gabriel Summer Scholars Institute

VCU’s Department of African American Studies hosts a weeklong day camp for high school students. The theme student will explore in the 2026 session is "Waterways to Lifeways: Genealogy, Geography, Environment". Please see the page on the Institute for further details.

Community Lecture Series

The Department of African American Studies hosts weekly lectures in the Richmond Public Library's Auditorium room, held every Thursday at 6pm. Please view the Community Lecture Calendar for more information! An ADA accessible list of events is available within the AFAM Events Calendar, where all of the department's events are listed.