The Department of African American Studies (AAS) at Syracuse University is a leading Africana studies department in the United States. It is located at Syracuse University in Syracuse, New York. It is a prominent independent department at Syracuse University that has had a long history of activism and scholarship in Black and Pan African Studies. The Department supports an external community based unit that is a part of the department and has played a central role in shaping culture and arts in the Syracuse city community - Community Folk Art Center (CFAC). It has also supported the Paul Robeson Performing Arts Company (PRPAC) in the past. These are both independent units that were housed or founded by the department The department also houses the award-winning library, the Martin Luther K