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Originally published by Capital B.

For Northwestern University alumna Keala Uchôa, the university’s recent decision to restructure its African Studies program and cut two staff positions is hardly surprising.

The move isn’t isolated. Over the years, the university and students have clashed over protests, a faculty member has sued over not getting tenure, and some current and former students — including Uchôa — say they’ve been censored.

The university began transitioning the Program of African Studies from the Office of Research to the Office of the Provost on Sept. 1. In a statement to Capital B, Northwestern said: “We are engaging African Studies faculty in a coordinated process to determine future opportunities for the program that will reinforce its distinguished status in the field. The program will continue its activities, and its endowed funding will not change.”

Although Northwestern said that it doesn’t intend to close the program, its restructuring is part of a broader national trend. Across the country, as the Trump administration continues to target diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education, more than a dozen U.S. public and private colleges and universities have closed, merged, or scaled back Black, African, and African American studies programs.

Northwestern is a private institution. Similar changes are occurring at public colleges across the U.S. The University of Iowa, the University of Texas at Austin, and the University of Kansas are among the schools that have merged Black studies with other programs, according to The Washington Post. Meanwhile, other institutions such as the University of Toledo in Ohio and Kennesaw State University in Georgia, have moved to phase out race-focused majors and degree paths.

We Must Defend Black History — It Fuels Freedom Dreams of Students Under Attack

Against this backdrop, Black professors and alumni from different universities told Capital B that the recent changes to ethnic studies and affinity groups signal to Black and Brown students that their history and research don’t matter.

Marcus Anthony Hunter, the department chair for Sociology and African American Studies at Howard University and a UCLA professor, said colleges often use the argument about declining interest in certain majors and minors to dismantle ethnic studies. However, he argues these programs’ impact goes far beyond enrollment numbers.

Hunter, a Northwestern alumnus, said college administrators’ argument can confuse some scholars. Students like Uchôa took ethnic courses to complement and frame their majors. In a sense, whether or not degree granting declines, ethnic studies continues to provide a lens for studying other degrees, he said.

While diversity and identity-based programs have rapidly decreased during President Donald Trump’s second term, professors and students note that the changes in higher education began even before his January........

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