Scholar and author Ibram X. Kendi leaving BU for Howard University

Author and historian Ibram X. Kendi is leaving Boston University and the Center for Antiracist Research to join the faculty of Howard University in Washington D.C. this summer.

BU’s Center for Antiracist Research, which Kendi founded in 2020, will close at the end of June, according to an article in a university publication that posted Thursday afternoon. The center’s 12 staff members will be employed through June 30 and will receive support with transitions, according to the article.

In an Instagram post Thursday afternoon, Kendi said his upcoming move to Howard marks “the most fulfilling choice” he has made.

“I have had my eye on Howard my entire career, studying its history, witnessing what this university means to the culture,” Kendi wrote, linking to a Washington Post article that first reported the news.

Kendi did not immediately respond to request for comment.

At Howard, a historically Black university, Kendi will head the Howard Institute for Advanced Study, a new interdisciplinary institute tasked with addressing inequities through research on racism, climate change and technology, according to a media release from the university. It will also house a residential fellowship program and an annual international class of fellows who will explore topics related to race and racism, his Instagram post detailed.

“Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s exceptional scholarship and unwavering commitment to social justice align perfectly with Howard University’s mission and values as we deepen our scholarship on the African Diaspora,” Howard University Provost Anthony Wutoh said in a statement.

Kendi will bring with him The Emancipator, a digital magazine charged with shining light on stories of race and racism, according to his post. The Emancipator launched with the help of the Boston Globe, but the outlets parted ways after a couple years. The publication is currently housed in the Center for Antiracist Research. (Editor's Note: Boston University owns WBUR's broadcast license. WBUR is editorially independent. Additionally, WBUR has had an editorial partnership with the Emancipator.)

Kendi, who won a MacArthur fellowship in 2021, is author of How to Be an Antiracist, which rose to the top of bestseller lists in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020.

In 2023, Boston University launched an inquiry into the management of the Center for Antiracist Research after the sudden layoff of nearly 20 staff members. An internal audit later found no wrongdoing with the center’s financial management. In a statement Thursday, BU Provost Gloria Waters thanked Kendi and the center staff for their contributions and wished the author well in “his next chapter.”

On Instagram, Kendi shared appreciation for the staff, faculty and students who worked at the center.

“Despite the pandemic and the intense backlash to our work at CAR, I am extremely proud of all we envisioned, all we researched, all we learned,” he wrote.

Kendi’s wife, Sadiqa Kendi, also announced a career move on Instagram Thursday. She will become the chief medical officer of Safe Kids Worldwide and will join the leadership of Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C.