Housed in African American Studies at UC Berkeley, AAITI explores the gamut of Black creative engagement with the classics through courses, workshops, events, podcasts, fellowships, grants and more. 

From Phillis Wheatley’s poems about the Bible, to Harlem Renaissance stagings of Shakespeare’s plays, from Dante’s influence over Ralph Ellison’s works, to Romare Bearden’s 1977 Black Odyssey paintings, AAITI explores important connections that comprise a shared cultural heritage as expressed by its go-to tagline: black + classics.

 

POESIS helped refine the initiative’s messaging, style, graphic identity, and art direction through multiple media.