In every discipline, we know their names. We cite them, teach them, shape courses around their ideas. And rightly so. These are the names of the scholars who created the frameworks that built the field. But what happens when we only look back? Who are the scholars doing the shaping now?

One of the premises of Universal Write Publications is the importance of harnessing the power of lineage, the value of honoring those who came before us, and the collective work of investing in those who carry the work forward. That is why we are calling for something as profound as a future-facing canon, built on principles of academic rigor, scholarship, educational pipeline, and diasporic, inclusive, and legacy.

Based on the fundamental values articulated by Africans during the long 250,000 years or so that Western thinkers have assigned to pre-history, Black scholars are widely known to be visionaries, built systems, programs, theories, methodology, statistical data analysis practice and have dispelled the myth of narratives that have overlooked much of the brilliant work that we adopt, use, and look for to add that authentic and rigorous voice to our research, but have been unable to name, or find.

We believe it is time for the long-held tradition of what is considered canon in every field to be reimagined to include established Black scholars who have equally accomplished and established powerful works used in academic scholarship. We are not implicitly saying that only Black scholars should be in the canon, or that an Afrocentric approach to curriculum development, pedagogy, historiography, literary theory, indigenous language development, and knowledge construction. Science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and information and communications technology must also name and recognize these established Black scholars, and those established Black scholars must begin naming emerging scholars alongside influencers in their field. Those developing new language frameworks and methodologies that respond to today’s realities with clarity and vision. This simple yet profound act of acknowledgment can shape what the next generation studies, trusts, and builds upon. It exercises foundational leverage in scientific and cultural discourse. Currently, even well-established Black scholars are not included; therefore, the Renaissance of reimagination of the canon must occur simultaneously for both senior and junior researchers.

The Significance

Academic institutions are often the pole bearers of what is recognized for intellectual inclusion. No matter how groundbreaking the work, Black scholars are relegated to invisibility without the nod, the co-sign, the citation, or the mention.

This is not a question of relevance or rigor. It is a question of visibility, lineage, dynamic access to scholarship, and expensive intellectual scholarship for discourse engagement. We know that when a seasoned scholar says, “Watch this person,” faculty take notice. Students get curious. Departments reconsider who should be included in the syllabus, and that changes everything. Let’s start there!

Toward a Living Lineage

One small step for scholars, one giant step for academic research. This slight pivot can expand the canon, but it also engages a new generation of thinkers, thought leaders, and changemakers, demonstrating that the intellectual tradition of academia is alive and inclusive of Black scholars. And when those Black scholars are named among giants of a discipline, such as the legacies of Du Bois, Garvey, Malcolm X, Cooper, we elevate the living legacy of legends so their footprints are not erased or remain static, but moved into new terrain, refracted through new minds, and are being shaped right now by thinkers who are reading the world with urgency and precision.

Join us as we invite scholars to name both their foundational influences and the emerging scholars, they see rising within the text itself. Not only in footnotes. Not only in references. But in the body of the work, in the flow of the ideas. Post a book by an elder, or established scholar, with one by a new emerging scholar.

This action goes beyond citation requirements, bridging the gap and building familiarity. Let their names live on the page. Let readers see them, look them up, share their work. Let students know they exist.

To name is to witness. To witness is to protect. And to protect is to secure our future.

A Gift to Future Readers

Legacy is not what we leave behind, it’s what we build forward.
This practice is a cultural investment, an intellectual offering. For students looking for trustworthy frameworks. For faculty building new syllabi. For communities seeking language that reflects their lives. And for all of us who want to see Black ideas flourish in every corner of the academy.

We believe this matters.
We believe it will make a difference.
We invite you to believe it, too.