The course covers systemic and anti-Black racism, Black consciousness, Black resistance, Black resilience, and intersectional solidarity...

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After the death of George Floyd, the University of Connecticut decided to add a pop-up course on US Anti-Black Racism ("ABR") rooted in critical race theory.

The course first appeared in 2021, and then was transitioned into a degree requirement in 2023 as part of a social justice requirement, though the official change, which was supposed to impact the 2024-2025 school year, has not yet been put into effect.

Now there is question as to whether the course can even be used as a formal degree requirement in light of that “Dear Colleague Letter” sent by the Department of Education indicating that such requirements might violate civil rights laws.

Dr. Robert Day, chair of UConn's Senate Executive Committee, indicated that "the ABR course requirement is being reconsidered under the possibility that it could be interpreted as illegal."

Day further suggested there were three possible outcomes:

• The ABR course may not be required, which Day suggested was "unlikely" due to the popularity of the course;
• Other pop-up courses could be added to allow students a choice (e.g., Why the Jews? Confronting Antisemitism, Confronting Anti-Asian Racism); or
• They could designate the course as a one-credit course.

Day said the course content would not change, just “whether it would be required of all students or not … the content would only change in the direction that experts in the area say we can improve the course.” 

So what content is included in the course?

By the completion of this course, UConn states that students should be able to:

1. Use existing research to describe the foundational history and concepts related to systemic anti-Black racism in the United States.
2. Explain foundational scholarship focused on Black-Led movements and concepts such as Black civil rights, Black resistance, Black resilience, and intersectional solidarity.
3. Question the consequences of anti-Black racism in areas such as Black health and wellness; Black agency and resilience; and/or anti-Blackness in higher education.
4. Locate valuable resources throughout the University of Connecticut that work to disrupt anti-Black racism for the collective good. 
5. Select critically engaged science, social science, and humanities courses offered by UConn that focus on anti-Blackness and appeal to your interests and plans of study.

The course is comprised of seven (7) modules including the following topics:

• Legacies of Chattel Slavery 
• Systemic Racism Anti-Black Racism 
• Black-Led and Intersectional Social Movements 
• Black Agency and Resilience
• Black Health and Wellness
• Contemporary Intersectional Solidarity
• Anti-Blackness on the College Campus

The ABR course page also included a link to Anti-Racism resources from the Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

Though the link is no longer active, the Wayback Machine reveals the resources that UConn had previously been promoting in conjunction with this course and through the NEAG School of Education, included things like Black Lives Matter, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Teaching Tolerance and Racial Equity Tools.

Plus UConn even had a special set of resources just for "the White Community" to teach white people all about how they can dismantle their own racism and learn how to become white anti-racists.

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