Founded in 1972, the African American and African Studies Community Extension Center is located at 905 Mt. Vernon Ave., providing educational opportunities for the Near Eastside and Central Ohio. Last year, the center reopened with a new library, meeting hall, classrooms, and updated technology to better serve its community. Credit: William Moody | Lantern Photographer
The Ohio State African American and African Studies Community Extension Center has been a long-standing pillar of support for Columbus’ Black community since its founding in 1972.
The center aims to “provide academic and community education opportunities for its Near Eastside neighbors and the greater Central Ohio community,” according to its website. Just last year, the center — located at 905 Mt. Vernon Ave. — reopened to include a new library, meeting hall, classrooms and updated technology in order to better serve its community.
The renovations were made possible by a $1 million state appropriation from Ohio State Sen. Hearcel Craig (D-Columbus), according to the College of Arts and Sciences’ website.
Judson Jeffries, a professor in the Department of African American and African studies and former director of the center from 2006-14, said the renovations will allow for improved outreach within the Columbus community.
“The CEC has undergone renovations, now equipped with more modern equipment, which allows for different and more contemporary programming,” Jeffries said.
These renovations have brought the center into a new era of creating future change, said Monica Stigler, the center’s current director.
“The center has been a safe space for many years now, where folks can come in and learn about Ohio State resources and programs right in their neighborhood,” Stigler said. “My responsibility is to continue that legacy for the next generation.”
The center’s history
Similar to many initiatives of its time, the Community Extension Center was born in 1972 out of a nationwide grassroots movement, Stigler said.
“Students, organizers and faculty at predominantly white institutions emphasized the need for a Black Studies Department that looks at the intersections of race, citizenship, class and culture, and reflects the experiences of Black people in this country,” Stigler said.
These protests — which took place prior to the establishment of the CEC in the late 1960s — led to the creation of a Black studies academic division in 1969, now called the Department of African American and African Studies.
William E. Nelson, the first chair of the then-Black Studies Department, created the CEC to engage with the historically Black Columbus community robustly and authentically, bridging the gap between the community and Ohio State, Stigler said.
Jeffries said the center primarily focused on educational programming and activities that enhanced quality of life for Black people. One of many programs offered during his time as director was a math and science program for grades four through 12.
“We cultivated a love of math and science in kids so they would be prompted to major in those fields once in college,” Jeffries said.
The center also offered computer literacy classes for senior citizens during Jeffries’ time as director, as they are a “group of people who were less likely to be technologically sophisticated,” he said.
The center now
Today, the center has shifted its focus toward community-oriented scholarship, Stigler said.
“We are a hub for faculty throughout the university, who have public-facing research ideas or want to engage with local communities, particularly Black communities,” Stigler said.
The CEC is currently partnered with the Ohio State Center for Urban and Regional Analysis, which focuses on city and regional planning, Stigler said.
“We worked closely with them on the project, Ghost Neighborhoods, that looked at mapping old buildings, landmarks and sites where communities used to be, but now are gone because of development efforts or the push and pull factors of change over time,” Stigler said.
Many of the diminished communities were predominantly Black, and the CEC works with elders from those communities to archive and publicize those aspects of Black history, Stigler said.
“We want to make sure that we are capturing some of those memories that stand the test of time, even though buildings have gone,” Stigler said. “The fabric of this community has always been influential in the lives of everyone who’s come to live, work or play here.”
One of the center’s future projects aimed for completion by fall 2025 is a new podcast titled “Black to Basics,” which looks at Ohio State’s Ten Dimensions of Wellness through the lived experiences of the Black community, Stigler said.
The topics will include current issues such as housing and the economy, featuring expert professors and students with relevant experiences in order for the podcast to contain multiple perspectives, Stigler said.
“I’d like for us to be able to take some of the research and data that is produced every day at OSU and translate that more intentionally so that community members can interrogate it and interact with it in more meaningful ways to become their agents of change in their lives,” Stigler said.
Stigler hopes that, moving forward, the center can work toward empowering the Columbus community to advocate for lasting policy changes, which begins with the research it is currently doing — such as its previous research project, Ghost Neighborhoods.
“People need to be able to understand the landscape of a particular issue much more deeply, and then be confident enough to have conversations about it in their community,” Stigler said.
