Boston U Launches Kendi Center Inquiry Amid Concerns

Boston University is initiating an "inquiry" into concerns surrounding the culture and financial management of Ibram X. Kendi's Center for Antiracist Research.

Per university spokesperson Rachel Lapal Cavallario, complaints centered on the "center's culture and grant management practices."

According to the Boston Globe, Cavallario explained that the inquiry announced Wednesday expands upon a prior examination of grant-management practices.

"I don't know where the money is," stated Saida Grundy, a BU professor who was part of the center from fall 2020 to spring 2021.

In December 2021, Grundy emailed BU's then-provost, Jean Morrison, alleging organizational dysfunction and a "pattern of amassing grants without any commitment to producing the research obligated" by them.

On Wednesday, Cavallario said BU had "received complaints from individuals questioning whether the center was following its funding guidelines. We are currently looking into those complaints."

The university's inquiry into the center comes after media reports featured numerous employee interviews or statements containing various allegations concerning the center. The university stated that Kendi "strongly disputes" the allegations in these statements, according to WCVB5.

Kendi, an African American studies professor and bestselling author, established the center in June 2020 at the peak of the racial justice movement following George Floyd's death. The center's mission was to "solve" racism, as reported by The Washington Free Beacon.

Last week, the center let go of approximately 15 to 20 employees; it employed 45 individuals as of August. According to Cavallario, these layoffs were a strategic shift initiated by Kendi, unrelated to financial challenges.

The grant money was intended for various projects, including a nationwide racial disparities database, a graduate degree program, a media venture, and research teams exploring systemic racism's impact on health and society.

While some projects, like The Emancipator, a digital publication in partnership with the Boston Globe, have been realized and transferred to BU, others, such as the Racial Data Tracker, remain unfulfilled, considered a central part of the organization's objectives, a former staffer stated.

Cavallario listed the center's achievements, including funding research projects, collaboration with The Atlantic to track COVID-19 racial disparities, and hosting policy meetings on antibigotry and race data collection.

"Boston University and Dr. Kendi believe strongly in the center's mission," Cavallario said. "We look forward to working with him as we conduct our assessment."

Phillipe Copeland, a BU School of Social Work professor and former assistant director of narrative at the center who resigned from the organization in June, said the center "was just being mismanaged on a really fundamental level."

Despite Kendi's significant decision-making authority, Copeland mentioned challenges in scheduling meetings with him. Additional staff members cited organizational paralysis due to Kendi's reluctance to delegate authority and limited availability.

Kendi's center secured millions, with $10 million from Twitter founder Jack Dorsey and $140,000 from George Soros' Open Society Foundation. However, the Free Beacon revealed minimal research output, mirroring a prior antiracism center led by Kendi at American University.

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