Africana Studies Alumna Publishes Debut Novel

June 23, 2022

Writing Her Future, from 2019

Monica Brashears is a senior graduating with a double major in English and Africana Studies. During her time at UT, she has received the Robert A. Burke Creative Writing Award, the Eleanor Burke Award for Nonfiction, the Michael Dennis Poetry Award, and the Margaret Artley Woodruff Award. She also received the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship were she participated in study abroad traveling to Senegal.

Monica was also listed as summa cum laude, on the Dean’s List in the College of Arts and Sciences. Upon graduation, she will attend Syracuse University in fall 2019 to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing (fiction).

Brashears Publishes Debut Novel to Great Acclaim

Monica Brashears’ (’19) House of Cotton (Flatiron Books, 2023) has received positive press from many news outlets. The book was previewed on The Today Show. Brashears came back to UT to give a reading on April 17, 2023.

See the article published by Today

About House of Cotton, from Monica Brashears’ website:

Magnolia Brown is nineteen years old, broke, and effectively an orphan. She feels stuck and haunted: by her overdrawn bank account, her predatory landlord, and the ghost of her late grandmother Mama Brown.

One night, while working at her dead-end gas station job, a mysterious, slick stranger named Cotton walks in and offers to turn Magnolia’s luck around with a lucrative “modeling” job at his family’s funeral home. She accepts. But despite things looking up, Magnolia’s problems fatten along with her wallet. When Cotton’s requests become increasingly weird, Magnolia discovers there’s a lot more at stake than just her rent.

Sharp as a belted knife, this sly social commentary cuts straight to the bone. House of Cotton will keep you mesmerized until the very last page.

Africana Studies Faculty Celebrate Juneteenth

June 15, 2022

Africana Studies Department Head and Professor Shayla C. Nunnally and Crystal Hardeman-Ikem, Associate Dean of Students and Director of Inclusive Excellence in the Office of the Dean of Students, share information on the history of Juneteenth and ways we can all celebrate the nation’s youngest federal holiday.

The 40th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade

The 40th Annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Parade will take place on June 20, 2022. The route will run down Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and end at the Dr. Walter E. Hardy Park, where the Beck Culture Exchange Center’s Juneteenth Celebration will start at noon. Line-up will begin at 8:30 a.m. at Chilhowee Park, 3300 E. Magnolia Avenue. Step-off is at 10:00 a.m. UT is registered as a group, so it is unnecessary to register individually. We ask that you sign-up here so that we know how many to expect. If you have questions, please email Quannah Washington at qwashing@utk.edu.

Parking will be available at Overcoming Believers Church and Tabernacle Church. Those who park at Tabernacle Church can board at Cruze Street to be transported to Chilhowee Park. Boarding starts at 8:30 a.m. at Harriet Tubman Street at the KAT bus shelter across from The Change Center for transport to Beaman Street near the Chilhowee Park entrance. The shuttle service will park at Cruze Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to return participants who parked in the Overcoming Believers and Chilhowee parking area. Participants will be shuttled every 15 to 20 minutes from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., stopping at the three locations for loading and unloading participants. The shuttle services will end at 12:30 p.m.

At the end of the parade, the UT bus will make one trip back to Chilhowee Park. If you park there and need a ride back, please feel free to get on the bus. The bus capacity is 35 people. We look forward to seeing you on June 20th!

Additional Information

For additional information about Juneteenth celebrations in Knoxville, please visit the MLK website and the Beck Center website.