Scholars and program leaders convened an emergency forum after multiple institutions moved to curtail or reclassify Black‑studies programs, highlighting coordinated state actions and anticipatory institutional compliance. Guests at Columbia University’s event described the University of Texas dissolving an established African and African Diaspora studies department, Kentucky pausing its Pan‑African Studies doctoral program after state anti‑DEI legislation, and Florida stripping general‑education designations from long‑standing courses. Researchers and department chairs—Ted Gordon, Ashanté M. Reese, Michael Brandon McCormack and Andrea Queeley among them—said political interventions and institutional preemptive measures, not just litigation, are reshaping curricular offerings and graduate funding streams. Queeley is a named plaintiff in federal litigation challenging Florida’s restrictions. One participant summarized the institutional dynamic bluntly: “PAS might not be targeted by the university, but neither has it been protected in this political and budgetary climate.” Universities facing state pressure will now confront hard choices about program integrity, faculty hiring, and the legal risks of both resisting and complying with state directives.