Former Committee on Minority Issues in Anthropology

In 1992 a Planning Group for a AAA Commission on Minority Issues recommended the creation of a Commission on Minority Issues, which was tasked with creating the organization and objectives of a standing Committee on Minority Issues in Anthropology.In 1993 that Commission determined three focal areas of concern for the new standing Committee: attracting minorities to the discipline and the Association; overcoming the alienation of Native Americans to the discipline, and defining anthropology's roles in public discourses about cultural diversity.In 2007 the AAA Executive Board established the Commission on Race and Racism in Anthropology (CRRA) to review and make recommendations regarding the organization and responsibilities of the CMIA.Based on the CRRA recommendations, the charge and structure of the CMIA were modified in 2013.

Objectives

Foster professional advancement of U.S. racialized minorities in anthropology. Attract such minorities to and retain them in the discipline and the Association. Promote intellectual awareness within the discipline and Association of issues that face such minority anthropologists. Help define anthropology's role in U.S. discourses on racism.

Duration of Committee

Combined with other AAA programmatic committees to form the Members’ Programmatic, Advisory and Advocacy Committee (MPAAC) following the 2017 AAA Annual Meeting. 

Committee Reports to

The Executive Board

Responsibilities

• Develop opportunities to educate colleagues at all levels of the profession about issues which impact racialized anthropologists in the US and about their contributions to core anthropological issues.
• Collaborate with sections, especially those representing the various subfields and those representing racialized anthropologists to work to reduce racism in the association and in the discipline and enhance the professional experience of anthropologists of color.
• Coordinate with other AAA committees, task forces, and commissions that deal with minority issues on topics and activities of common concern.
• Interact with US and other interested department heads at the AAA meetings and by email to share information on the importance of diversity for faculty, staff, and graduate students and the best practices for achieving such diversity.
• Make recommendations to the Executive Board regarding the recipient of the Minority Fellowship Award and develop additional forms of mentoring young racialized minority professionals.
• Disseminate results of activities and findings in organized events at the Annual Meeting and in the Anthropology News to educate Association members and the general public
  
• Develop pragmatic and measurable indices for examining progress toward meeting the above objectives, including monitoring statistics on racial/ethnic diversity.
• Participate in the Association's long range and strategic planning processes on issues of racialized minority recruitment and retention.

Membership and Appointment

• 7 members, including the Chair.
• The Chair and 1 member will be appointed by the AAA President.
• In consultation with the AAA President, 3 members will be designated, 1 each, by the presidents of the following sections from among their members: Association of Black Anthropologists, Association of Indigenous Anthropologists, and Association of Latina and Latino Anthropologists.
• 2 members will be elected by the membership at-large.
• President and President-elect/Vice President sit Ex-officio.

Term of Office

3-year terms

Product

Seeking funding for supporting minority scholarship in anthropology at all levels, developing linkages with minority anthropologists, and assisting in defining anthropology's role in the discourse on cultural diversity. An ongoing activity is the development of a comprehensive database of minority anthropologists, including information on members' expertise on file, which can be made available to departments recruiting faculty or to funding agencies seeking reviewers.

AAA seeks racial/ethnic demographic information about anthropology students, faculty and practitioners. This information is gathered through surveys of academic departments and information solicited from AAA members.