Two historically Black educational institutions – Texas Southern University and Prairie View A&M University – have partnered with Rice University and the University of Houston to form the Southeastern Texas African and African American Studies Consortium. The alliance between the Houston-area institutions will take advantage of their geographic proximity — as well as Houston’s rich history — to pool intellectual resources and continue elevating the field of African and African American studies.
Melanye Price, the Endowed Professor of Political Science at Prairie View A&M University, stated that “I’m so excited about this partnership because we have all these colleges right here in Houston doing interesting work related to race, and it allows us to come together and amplify the work we’re all doing so we’re not working in silos anymore. And I think what that will allow us to do is to bring really interesting programs, conferences, lectures, and all of those things to our community — both our campus communities and the Greater Houston community.”
Cary Wintz, Distinguished Professor of History at Texas Southern University, added that “It’s a very good thing to bring these scholars together, particularly when we’re in a place like Houston that is so large, so diverse and has so many different institutions. That’s the first step to creating a community.”
