When the author looked back at her first two years at Spelman, a historically Black liberal arts college for women, she can see that the African Diaspora and the World (ADW) program had been paramount to her development as a culturally competent scholar with a nuanced understanding of systemic racism. In the majority-White schools she attended for much of her life, Black history and literature were an afterthought. Spelman College implemented the required two-course ADW program for first-year students in the early 1990s. The program aims to center histories of Africa and its people, prepare students to perceive themselves as global citizens, heighten the awareness of diverse cultural and historical experiences, and emphasize the connection between education and social change. In this article, the author shares her experience with the ADW program.