The Institute for Research on the African Diaspora in the Americas and the Carribean,
commonly referred to by its acronym IRADAC, was founded jointly in 1994 by The City College(CCNY) and The Graduate School and University Center(GSUC) of the City University of New York to strengthen the University's capacity to address the African
Presence in the Americas through scholarly research and public programs, for the betterment of the lay public and as well the academic community.

IRADAC'S mission is to foster understanding and critical interpretation of the history, development, conditions, status, and cultures of the diverse peoples of African descent living in the various societies of the Western Hemisphere. However, the Institute's primary focus on the black experience in Canada and the United States, Central and South America, and the Caribbean does not preclude any region of the African Diaspora from the scope of its multidisciplinary scholarship and public programs.

The Institute will develop and facilitate the creation of a community of independant scholars at the City University of New York interested in the study of the African Diaspora, and encourage interchange and communication with scholars in the field both nationally and internationally in order to conceptualize, critique, and reframe existing research on the African Diaspora as well as to conduct and disseminate new research.

The Institute will constitute and maintain a University-wide network of African Diaspora Studies departments, programs, centers and other entities, and serve as a resourse and advocate for the teaching and study of the African Diaspora at the undergraduate and graduate as well as at the post-doctoral level across the campuses of the CUNY system.

The Institute will inform and influence the formulation of public and academic policy, particularly with respect to education, through its research initiatives, and public programs.

Feel free to send us e-mail with any questions or comments to the following address: IRADAC@ccny.cuny.edu