History and Critical Race & Ethnic Studies

Engaging the Black Community Inside, Outside UC Merced

February 21, 2023

Professor Maria Martin has a lot going on. On Feb. 18, she was the grand marshal and a speaker at a program and march honoring the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in downtown Merced. This weekend, she and the university will host a two-day gathering that investigates Black identity from...

Black Alliance Launches Africana Studies Conference

UC Merced’s first Global Africana Studies Research Conference, scheduled for Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24-25, grew out of a course taught at the university. The subject was Black consciousness...

A student sits in a stairwell and smiles while holding a diploma cover.

Alumnus Shares His UC Merced Experiences to Guide Youth to College

While growing up in the Sacramento area, Donald Carter ('21) said he didn't see many people who looked like him pursuing higher education. As the oldest of four boys in a single-parent...

UC Awards $16.4 Million in Grants to Address Climate, Energy and Health

For the first time, UC Merced faculty members from each of the campus’s three schools have been chosen as principal investigators on some of the 21 exciting new projects that are being funded...

The 14th Dalai Lama is seen in a screenshot from a video recording on Sept. 18, 2022.

'Peace Doesn't Come from the Sky': Dalai Lama Advocates for Togetherness as He Receives Spendlove Prize

A special recognition over a decade in the making was celebrated this month as His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama was awarded the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice, Diplomacy and...

The 14th Dalai Lama is seen in a file photo.

Dalai Lama Honored as 15th Recipient of Spendlove Prize

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama has been awarded the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice, Diplomacy and Tolerance. A pre-recorded showing of the presentation on Monday, Sept. 26,...

Spendlove Prize recipient Nadia Murad is seen in a photo.

Nobel Laureate and Human Rights Activist Nadia Murad Celebrated as 14th Recipient of Spendlove Prize

2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner and human rights activist Nadia Murad was honored with the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice, Diplomacy and Tolerance during a virtual ceremony...

Human rights activist Nadia Murad is seen in a photo.

Spendlove Prize to Be Presented to Human Rights Activist and 2018 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient Nadia Murad

Human rights activist Nadia Murad has been selected as the 14th recipient of the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice, Diplomacy and Tolerance. The 2018 Nobel Peace Prize...

Juneteenth: Celebrating Freedom and Hope for the Future

Every American knows we celebrate freedom on the Fourth of July, but very few people know what Juneteenth celebrates, or even recognize the date. A Harris Poll conducted last June found 22% of...

Alicia Garza speaks during a virtual event to honor her with the Spendlove Prize.

Alicia Garza, Civil Rights Activist and BLM Co-Founder, Honored with Spendlove Prize

While this year's ceremony looked quite different from years past due to the coronavirus pandemic, the presentation of the Alice and Clifford Spendlove Prize in Social Justice, Diplomacy and...