Department of African American Studies

College of Humanities and Sciences

Current StudentsGive

Events

an emotional student graduate attending her commencement ceremony at v.c.u.

Carter G. Woodson Awards for Academic Excellence

Date: Wednesday, Feb 25, 2026

The Carter G. Woodson Awards for Academic Excellence were founded in 1983 by Dr. Daryl Dance, the distinguished scholar of African American and Caribbean literature, who served as program coordinator during the 1983-84 academic year. Dr. Dance established the Ceremony to recognize students' academic excellence in line with the work and philosophy of Dr. Carter G. Woodson.

Flyer advertising the March 26, 2026 lecture by Lisa Winn Bryan

Black Owned: HBCUs, the Black Church, & The Divine Nine

Date: Thursday, Mar 26, 2026

The lecture will be delivered by Dr. Lisa Winn Bryan in the Richmond Public Library's Auditorium Room at 6PM. Please check our Facebook page for a livestream link if you aren't able to attend in person!

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.