newsletter Archives - Africana Studies

Welcome to Our Newest Colleagues Fall 2023

November 2, 2023

Bayyinah S. Jeffries, associate professor in the Department of Africana Studies, has research and teaching interests that comprise a range of historical topics and themes including 20th century African American history, Black student movements, Black nationalism and self-determination, race relations, Black women’s history, race and the U.S. Constitution, and comparative Black histories. Jeffries is the author of several publications, including “The Challenge of Race and Religion in the United States: From Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali” in Africana Cultural Memory, “Race Relations in Higher Education: The Case of the OSU 34,” in the Journal of Ohio Valley History, “Black Religion and Black Power: The Nation of Islam’s Internationalism,” in Genealogy Special Issue Global Black Movements, “Raising Her Voice:’ Writings By, For & About Women in Muhammad Speaks Newspaper, 1961-1975,” in African American Consciousness: Past & Present, and her book, A Nation Can Rise No Higher Than Its Women: Black Muslim Women in the Movement for Black Self Determination with Lexington, and other works.

Walter R. Isaac, lecturer in the Department of Africana Studies, is a scholar, public intellectual, and African American rabbi of Palestinian descent. He has for many years worked as a mentor and direct advocate for LGBTQ teens, school-age boys of color, Jewish youth, and victims of urban violence. He is a specialist in intercultural student affairs and university campus dialogue, particularly on issues of systemic racism, sex/gender discrimination, and the politics of Israel/Palestine. A Yale University graduate, Rabbi Isaac was formerly a research fellow in Africana Studies at Brown University, as well as the program director for Temple University’s Institute for the Study of Race and Social Thought. His writings all stem from womanist philosophical approaches to the intersection of Africana studies and global Jewish studies. His research has recently focused on the theoretical and historical development of modern democracy from among American Hebrew communities of color. Before joining the department of Africana Studies, Rabbi Isaac co-directed a $250K NEH grant-funded project on Gullah/Geechee contributions to American democracy. He is a member of many professional organizations and the current President of the Afro-Jewish Studies Association. Currently, he is completing a two-part, monograph on the intersection of German-Jewish phenomenologist, Max Scheler’s objective realism with Martin L. King Jr.’s philosophy of humanistic science. Some of his many articles and monographs can be found in publications such as Contending Modernities, Violence in American Society, the Journal of the Middle East and Africa, Black Existentialism, and a seminal article on Afro-Jewish Studies in the Blackwell Companion to African-American Studies.

Faculty Updates Fall 2023

November 2, 2023

Fatuma Guyo, lecturer in the Department of Africana Studies, has a passion for teaching and sharing the global elements of Africana studies with students. One of her students, Max Polichnowski, shared: “When I began AFST 235, I realized that all I had ever learned about was through the lens of an American. I really want to change that and expand my understanding of the world from more than just an American perspective. I feel drawn to AFST because its rich history and culture are very different from that of America. I believe there is a lot more to be learned, and I am very eager to learn it, which was my motivation behind declaring an AFST minor. I really enjoy Dr. Guyo’s class, and I find the material very interesting and thought provoking. I have found myself spreading what I learn in AFST to my family and friends, expressing my interest in the subject. They too have never had the opportunity to learn about Africa or its history. I am excited to continue learning about Africa and to have this as my minor.”

Robert Bland, assistant professor of Africana studies with a joint appointment in history, was recently invited to write a “state of the field” essay on Southern History for Reviews in American History. He was also appointed to the Programming Committee for the 2024 Biannual Conference of the Society of Civil War Historians.

Danielle Procope Bell, assistant professor of Africana studies, and DeLisa D. Hawkes were selected to participate in the Summer Institute on Tenure and Professional Advancement (SITPA) hosted by Duke University. SITPA is a mentoring program that pairs junior faculty with senior faculty in their field. Both Procope Bell and Hawkes are faculty of Africana Studies whose research agendas add value to the department’s diversity initiatives.

DeLisa D. Hawkes, assistant professor of Africana studies with affiliation in English, presented a webinar highlighting the writings and activism of the early-20th century writer, Sutton Griggs, for the East Texas Historical Association. She was also awarded an SEC Visiting Faculty Travel Grant to conduct and present research at the University of Mississippi. Hawkes, who publishes on race in horror, sci-fi, and thrillers, has engaged with her students and colleagues in her recent research and teaching activities within the department. Since spring 2022, AFST/ENGL 311: Race in Horror, Sci-Fi, and Thriller, a course that Hawkes designed and has taught twice, has been a huge success among students. The course features novels, television series, short stories, and films that interrogate race in the genres of horror, sci-fi, and thriller and has received stellar reviews from students who have enrolled in the course.

Hawkes has extended these interests in race in horror, sci-fi, and thriller in her research as well, having published an article titled “Hippolyta’s Awakening Through Spiritual Warfare in Lovecraft Country (2020)” in Studies in the Fantastic, a peer-reviewed journal of literary and arts criticism focused on speculative and fantasy works. On October 27, 2022, Hawkes gave a public lecture attended by students, faculty, and staff titled “Racecraft in Lovecraft,” where she discussed anthropologist and sociologist, Karen Fields’ and Barbara Fields’, concept of racecraft as it appears in the popular television series. Hawkes also contributed to a forthcoming forum on works inspired by Toni Morrison in the peer-reviewed journal, Women’s Studies. In Hawkes’ contribution, she discusses Morrison as a central inspiration to horror and science fiction studies centered on race.

Addressing Maternal Health Disparities in Knoxville

November 2, 2023

The University of Tennessee Humanities Center provided a grant for a focus group on maternal health issues and disparities.

By Myron Thompson

Danielle Procope Bell, an assistant professor in the Department of Africana Studies and member of Knox Birth Equity Alliance (KBEA), supports the One Health Initiative providing information and potential solutions for the community’s maternal health and related disparities. The Knox Birth Equity Alliance is a local community group founded in 2019 to address Black maternal health disparities in the Knoxville community. It is composed of local professors, health workers from the Knox County Health Department, non-profit leaders, and other volunteers.

The CDC reported in 2023, that “Black women are three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than White women” in the United States. Through her research and time with KBEA, Bell asserts that this same maternal disparity is occurring for Black women in the Knoxville area.

“Black women here in Knoxville are approximately 3 to 4 times more likely to pass away from childbirth complications or during that first year post-partum, and Black babies are also 3 to 4 times more likely to pass away during their first year of life,” Bell said.

Although 17 percent of Knoxville is Black according to statistics gathered from the Knox County Health Department, “In 2017, the infant mortality rate for black babies in Knox County was four-and-a-half times that of white babies, and the rate of black babies born at a low-birth rate was almost two-and-a-half times that of white babies.”

Bell received funding from the UT Humanities Center to develop a Black Maternity Health Think Tank. The goal of the think tank is to develop specific and targeted initiatives to reduce rates of disparities in Black maternal health and infant mortality in Knoxville. To accomplish this, the eight colleagues each bring their own specialties, while brainstorming, hoping to eventually match the developed initiatives with grant funding.

“What happens, basically, when you get a group of people who are invested in one specific topic? Black maternal health, in this case —[something good]….So this is the first time that anything like that has been done here in Knox County,” Bell said.

Students wanting to get involved are encouraged to join one of the local non-profits, email Professor Bell, or to be looking out for potential upcoming paid internship opportunities along with research position opportunities. One student, Maron Desta, was able to play a fundamental role as a research assistant for Bell’s research on Black maternal health. Desta became involved in the research after taking a Black feminist theory class with Bell in the prior fall semester; one of several courses offered by Bell and the Department of Africana Studies.

Desta was also given the opportunity to act as a speaker and to introduce guest speakers at Bell’s Black Maternal Health Forum. Desta has worked with Bell on other research and presented at the exhibition of Undergraduate Research Experience and Creative Achievement (EUReCA).

Rodgers Celebrates 30 Years of Dedication to UT

November 2, 2023

By Myron Thompson

The Department of Africana Studies is honored to acknowledge and show its gratitude to one of its most loyal, diligent, and inspiring staff members, Nanette Rodgers. Rodgers will be coming up on her 30th year at the University of Tennessee, having demonstrated her diligent work ethic at multiple departments and through her many years.

Rodgers is an administrative associate for the Department of Africana Studies, although over the years she has worked as an accounting specialist at the Department of Biological Sciences and been responsible for a variety of duties. Having lived her whole life here in Knoxville, Rodgers recalled growing up learning that UT was a prestigious, highly-aspired institution, and worth striving to be employed, which motivated Rodgers to work at an institution of higher education.

“I think we are here for the students, and that is what the University of Tennessee is about—the students,” said Rodgers.

There have been many memorable moments for Rodgers, the most special moment was getting to see her son graduate in 2015 from UT.

Another memorable moment at the university was when Rodgers found out that the university’s Veterans Success Center would allow Rodgers to recognize her 94-year-old father, Champ Sims, a World War II veteran.

The Veterans Success Center allowed Sims to be recognized in the center’s newsletter.

“Being an African American, when I noticed there were so many students of diverse backgrounds it just seemed, ‘This was amazing!” Rodgers said. “It’s been great seeing UT become more welcoming over the years.”

Rodgers hopes that as the university continues to grow and improve, people on the campus will continue to learn to accept others, even those that may have come from a different background compared to their own.

To accomplish this Rodgers suggests, “That you get out of your comfort zone and learn to be a little bit more vulnerable,” and to learn to network or meet new people.

To commemorate her many years at UT, Rodgers plans to walk around the university and take in all the old, but also many new sights that are spread around the campus.

“For 30 years is a lot of memories, some good times and maybe not-so-good times. But it’s like a breath of fresh air to say, ‘I’ve made it’. I’m going to take a deep breath and say, ‘You made it,’” Rodgers said.

Rodgers made it her career to focus on the growth of students, aiding her departments, and working tirelessly for so many years. In addition, she completed the 2021-22 UConnect Leadership Program.

On behalf of the Department of Africana Studies and for all those at UT; we owe a huge, “Thank You, Ms. Rodgers,” for her service, love, and commitment that she has brought and continues to bring to the University of Tennessee. Everyone is encouraged to stop by the Department of Africana Studies or to send an email to congratulate Nanette Rodgers on her 30th year at UT.

Prepared and Archived to Succeed

November 2, 2023

UT Department of Africana Studies provides opportunities for an English major to advance her research skills and address the growing concern of the Black archival crisis. By Myron Thompson

An intern from the Department of Africana Studies is helping to facilitate new research opportunities for other students, contributing to helping solve what is becoming known as the crisis of black archives or collections. Her name is Angelica Williams, an English major, who has officially finished her archival assistantship with the Department of Africana Studies. She is attending graduate school at the University of South Carolina.

Williams started as an undergraduate research assistant and decided to continue her work with the Africana studies department through an assistantship with Assistant Professor DeLisa D. Hawkes, helping to accession the department’s vast archive documents. The plan for Williams was to not only archive the department’s decades of documentation but also to use the finding aids she has created to help Professor Hawkes in her design of a new research course helping students to navigate Black archives.

Williams’s work to help accession and record the department’s archival collection and also to create a new archival research course is a pivotal move for UT and the Africana studies department to help combat what is known in the US as “The Crisis of Black Archives,” which is a lack of recording, digitizing, and persevering historical Black documents. This crisis is acknowledged and labeled by those in Africana studies who are focused on archiving and researching along with members of the Black community. This includes other educational organizations, such as The HistoryMakers and members of the Schomburg Research Center.

According to Khalil G. Muhammad, Director Emeritus of the Schomburg Research Center from 2010 to 2015, the crisis of black collections is a crisis of democracy. “This tendency to want to disappear into the fullness of American life, whereby black collections then are subject to the gatekeeping…,” he said during a panel with The HistoryMakers.

“I think realizing how much history is contained in documents that seem really simple on first glance, correspondents and receipts, things like that…but actually reading it and getting to trace the history of the department from simple interactions to protests has been the most interesting thing,” Williams said.

Williams encourages anyone who might be interested in applying for internships at the department, emphasizing the investment the staff has in seeing students grow professionally and describing the archival work as fulfilling and allowing students the opportunity to help highlight the important aspects of history along with obscure programs at the university.

To the up-and-coming students, especially those in middle or high school that are thinking about looking into archival work or might be interested in learning more about this type of work, Williams suggests starting at your own local, public library.

“Also I would just say to pursue your own research interests, even now, whether it be books that you grab from the library or on the Internet that kinda thing, because those research skills will end up being really beneficial later on and you can already tailor your interests and know specifically what you want to pursue later on,” Williams said.

Williams plans to take her knowledge and experience to the University of South Carolina to earn her master’s degree in public history and library science. Post graduate school Williams hopes to advance in her career and to work at a special collections library or work as an archivist at a research institution. She is attending graduate school at the University of South Carolina, where she is also working with the Center for Civil Rights History and Research.