Growing pains at Ibram X. Kendi’s antiracist center don’t signal a larger trend, experts say

By THALIA BEATY
Associated Press

In September, the award-winning author and academic Ibram X. Kendi and Boston University acknowledged that they were laying off most of the staff at the research center he runs. The news prompted former colleagues to publicly question the BU Center for Antiracist Research’s ability to deliver on the promises it had made to funders. Since then, essentially none of the center’s funders have raised public concerns about its work. On Tuesday, the university said an initial inquiry found no issues with how the center managed its finances. Grantmakers and advocates for racial justice within philanthropy said the center’s problems don’t represent a larger trend about donations made in 2020 around racial justice.