Partner Spotlight: The Boston University Center for Antiracist Research

Photo: Bryce Vickmark

Peloton is all about community. In the last year, we were lucky enough to partner with seven organizations around the world as part of The Peloton Pledge. Within the four year, $100 commitment, we specifically dedicated $20M to support nonprofit partners working to fight racial injustice or who help promote health and wellness for all.

Today we’ll be hearing from one of our U.S. partners, the Boston University Center for Anti Racist Research, which was founded by activist and scholar Dr. Ibram X. Kendi.

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi. Photo: Bryce Vickmark

Can you help the Peloton community understand the kind of work the Center for Antiracist Research does?

Center for Antiracist Research: The mission of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research is to convene researchers and practitioners from various disciplines to figure out novel and practical ways to understand, explain, and solve seemingly intractable problems of racial inequity and injustice. We foster exhaustive racial research, research-based policy innovation, data-driven educational and advocacy campaigns, and narrative-change initiatives. We are working toward building an antiracist society that ensures equity and justice for all.

Looking back at what you’ve accomplished so far, what are some of your most recent programs or partnerships that you’re particularly proud of? How does that come together with the work you’re doing with Peloton?

CAR: We have been thrilled to work with Peloton this past year and are amazed at their commitment to fighting racial injustices and inequities. One of the ways the Center encourages innovative research is through building Research and Policy (R&P) teams, which consist of interdisciplinary academic cohorts that conduct research projects with an integrative approach to antiracism. We are excited that Peloton is sponsoring one of our R&P team projects entitled “Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) Activism and Organizing as a Mental Health Intervention for BIPOC Youth: Building the Case for Practice Informed Evidence.” This team of scholars is researching the best practices for promoting mental health and collective care for young BIPOC. For communities of color, racism is a chronic stressor resulting in physical and mental health challenges across the lifecourse. We are eager to learn about how we can ease this burden for our youth and grateful that Peloton is supporting this work.

It seems like both organizations are looking to make positive impacts on a broader community. How do you involve the community in your work?

CAR: The Center for Antiracist Research is where academic research meets antiracist action, and the community is at the heart of our work. We are a full-service organization that translates antiracist ideas into action by unifying research, policy, narrative, and advocacy efforts. We take a rigorous, research-based, and integrative approach to transforming a racist society to an antiracist one. We achieve this goal by conducting original research, developing policy solutions, translating scholarly data into a form policymakers and the general public can utilize, and launching coordinated advocacy campaigns to alter the racial landscape of our nation.

In addition, the Center is in the process of developing the American Antiracist Society—a network of individual and organizational partners that are committed to abolishing racism. The American Antiracist Society is inspired by the American Anti-Slavery Society, which served as the main activist arm of the Abolition Movement. The Center’s Antiracist Society will build on the principles and auxiliary structure of the early Anti-Slavery Society, while re-envisioning what’s needed to meet our current political moment. This is one of the main ways that the Center will engage with local communities across the country and we’re excited to share more about this important effort in the coming months.