Kendi is glad to be back to work after a challenging start.
Boston University announced on Nov. 7 that its initial inquiry into Ibram X. Kendi’s Center for Antiracist Research found no evidence of improper management of finances.
According to NBC News, after the university acknowledged the center would be laying off approximately half of its staff and changing its operating model in September, it launched an investigation into the organization’s financial health.
On Nov. 7, Kendi shared his feelings on the investigation with the Associated Press: “Unfortunately, one of the most widely held racist ideas is the idea that Black people can’t manage money or Black people take money. It was those two allegations that were expressed and connected to me that, of course, people didn’t necessarily need evidence to substantiate their belief that that happened because apparently my skin color was enough evidence.”
Other planned initiatives—a graduate program and an undergrad minor program in antiracist studies as well as a database of antiracist campaigns—have been cancelled.
“What they saw us experiencing was quite normal, even if the coverage around it was was abnormal,” Kendi told NBC News.
Former CAR staffers have said Kendi had too much power. If he were given the opportunity to start the center again, he told the Associated Press he would have started it with just a fellowship and the current model. He admitted it was difficult “trying to build a new organization from scratch during a pandemic era while responding to the urgency of the moment.”
Kendi added, “I’ve also learned how steep the learning curve is when you have a startup and you’re in the public life.”
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Source: Black Enterprise
