"No One is Free Until We All are Free:"
Activism, Advocacy, and Academic Freedom During Late-Stage Capitalism

Dr. Nneka D. Dennie is Assistant Professor of History, core faculty in Africana Studies, and affiliate faculty in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Washington and Lee University. She is also the co-founder of BWSA. Dr. Dennie’s research examines African American intellectual thought with an emphasis on nineteenth-century Black women. Her first book, Mary Ann Shadd Cary: Essential Writings of a Nineteenth-Century Black Radical Feminist, was published with Oxford University Press in 2023. Her monograph, Redefining Radicalism: Black Women Intellectuals in the Nineteenth Century, is a study of early Black radical thought. In 2024, Dr. Dennie received the Mellon Emerging Faculty Leaders Award from the Institute of Citizens and Scholars. Her work has been supported by the Center for Black Digital Research at Pennsylvania State University, as well as fellowships at Davidson College and MIT. Dr. Dennie’s work has been published in Palimpsest: A Journal on Women, Gender, and the Black International; Feminist Studies; Atlantic Studies: Global Currents; Slate; Business Insider; and more.

“Unveiling the Burdens: Black Women Teachers and the American K-12 Parasitic Syndrome”

Jamela Joseph is a doctoral student in the Education Leadership and Policy Studies program at Howard University School of Education. She is the originator of the term American K-12 Parasitic Syndrome (APS), a theoretical framework that provides a critical analysis of the foundational inequities in the American education system. Her research explores the systemic factors contributing to teacher burnout as a mental health crisis, teacher retention challenges, and the disproportionate impact of these issues on Black women educators. Her work has been featured in the Howard University Magazine, underscoring her contributions to education scholarship.

“Pro-Black Pedagogy in K-12 Education: A Narrative of Black Motherhood”

Prilly Bicknell-Hersco, is a Black Mother-Scholar and PhD candidate in the Faculty of Education at York University, Canada. Her research explores the intersections of Black motherwork, critical disability studies, and Black student experiences in higher education, grounded in Black feminist thought, critical race theory, and Black dis/ability politics. Prilly teaches a Black studies course at York University titled Cultures of Resistance, where students engage with historical and contemporary issues of Black life in the Americas. She serves as an advisory board member for the federally funded project “Black Maternal Pedagogies” and is the Justice, Equity, and Redress of Anti-Black Racism committee representative at her university. She currently serves as the membership chair of the Black Women’s Studies Association. Prilly is deeply committed to advancing the work of Black womxn scholars, activists, artists, and community members across borders and within Black diasporic communities.

“The Burden of Strength: Black Women Leaders’ Right to Rest”Dr. Chenelle Boatswain is the founder and principal consultant of CSB Consulting Services, which exists to disrupt the isolation, exhaustion, and attrition experienced by Black women in higher education. Through her consulting services, Dr. Boatswain supports Black women to leverage the traditions of community gathering to form protective communities that support sustaining success while pursuing their highest academic and professional aspirations. With over 20 years of experience in K-12 and higher education, Dr. Boatswain has demonstrated an enduring commitment to systems-level solutions to drive equity in education including leading the expansion of a K-8 charter school in Minneapolis, MN, designing and leading identity-based learning experiences for social workers and teachers, and designing innovative professional learning programs at the University of Pennsylvania. Her research, which leverages Black Feminist Thought and Critical Race Feminism Frameworks to uplift the challenges and resilience practices of Black women college & university administrators, has been presented to the American Education Research Association, National Women's Studies Association, and Faculty Women of Color Association. She is faculty at Delaware State University and the University of Pennsylvania. Dr. Boatswain holds a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master of Education from Harvard University.

“Beyond Respectability: How Black Women Rappers Shape Sexual Pleasure Narratives”

Andrea Lewis, PhD, PA-C, is an Assistant Professor in the Public Health Education Department at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a practicing Physician Assistant specializing in sexual and reproductive health, focusing on STI prevention and care. A trailblazer in her field, she was the first Black Valedictorian of her PA class at Rutgers University. Her research explores medical gendered racism, the sexual and reproductive health needs of Black college women, and the cultural influence of Black women rappers on Black women’s sexuality. Dr. Lewis integrates critical sexuality studies and intersectionality into her teaching, inspiring future health and healthcare professionals.

“Betty Davis and the Radical Black Feminist Ethos of The Queen of Funk”

Amy Abugo Ongiri is a Professor and Director of Ethnic Studies at the University of Portland. Their work focuses on visual culture at the intersection of race, gender, and identity, and their book Spectacular Blackness: The Cultural Politics of the Black Power Movement and the Search for a Black Aesthetic explores the cultural politics of the Black Power movement. Their academic work has been published in College Literature, Journal of African American History, Camera Obscura, Postmodern Culture, Black Filmmaker, the Los Angeles Review of Books, and Nka: The Journal of Contemporary African Art. In addition to their academic publications, they have also published creative nonfiction in Black Girl Dangerous, Mutha Magazine, Glitterwolf, Black Lesbian Love Lab, and the Rad Families anthology.

Dr. Jessica S. Samuel is the founder & CEO of Radical Education & Advocacy League, LLC (REAL), an educational equity firm focused on helping BIPOC students thrive, not just survive. She is an educator, interdisciplinary scholar, and decolonial activist whose work focuses on race, education, colonialism and the environment, including where they all might converge, in the United States and Caribbean. Dr. Samuel served as an appointed member of the Racial Imbalance Advisory Council for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and is a member of Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC). She is also Education Committee Chair for Right to Democracy, an organization committed to confronting U.S. colonialism in all five American territories. Dr. Samuel holds a PhD in American Studies from Boston University, a Master of Education from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and a Bachelor in African American Studies and Anthropology from Wesleyan University. Most recently, Dr. Samuel has been appointed as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of African & African American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis.

Dr. Shauna Rigaud is a cultural studies scholar whose work explores the intersections of race, gender, identity, and power within the African diaspora, with a particular focus on the anglophone Caribbean. Her research interests seek to draw doted lines between Black American and Caribbean American experiences, through the work of women, cultural practices, and ideas of solidarity and nation building. A first-generation college graduate, her academic journey began at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst where she earned a B.A. in Afro-American History. She holds a dual Master’s in Gender/Cultural Studies and Communication Management from Simmons University in Boston and she completed her PhD in Cultural Studies from George Mason University, in Virginia. She is currently the Associate Director of the Office of Community Engagement and Civic Learning at George Mason University. She is also a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated.

Dr. Melanie R. Holmes is an Assistant Professor of African American Studies at the University of South Carolina. She received her PhD in history with a specialization in the African Diaspora, and a certificate in Women’s Studies, at Howard University. Her research prioritizes the diverse regions, individual causes, and various strategies of Black Power movements. Dr. Holmes was previously a lecturer at Howard University where she taught courses in the African Diaspora, United States History, Women’s Studies, and Caribbean Studies. Prior to entering academia, she earned her master’s degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania. She worked in District of Columbia Public Schools for ten years as a Social Studies instructional coach, department chair, curriculum writer, and taught multiple secondary history courses. Having earned her Bachelor of Arts in print journalism from Howard University, Dr. Holmes began her career as a reporter for The Philadelphia Tribune and Afro-American Newspaper.

Dr. Jacinta R. Saffold is a visiting faculty fellow in the James Weldon Johnson Institute for the Study of Race and Difference at Emory University. She is an Assistant Professor of African American Literature and Culture at the University of Delaware and a digital archivist. She received her Ph.D. from the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro American Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst with certificates in African Diaspora Studies and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. Dr. Saffold’s research interests coalesce around 20th and 21st century African American literature, Hip Hop Studies, and the Digital Humanities. She is concurrently working her first manuscript, Books & Beats: The Cultural Kinship of Street Lit and Hip Hop and and the Essence Book Project, a computational collection of popular African American Literature. She also has extensive experience as a scholar-administrator with emphases on enrollment management, inclusive diversity, and student success. Ultimately, Dr. Saffold is committed to widening access for minority students and shifting the culture in higher education to be more inclusive through a prism of African American literature and culture.

Dr. Olivia Adams is an interdisciplinary social scientist and Assistant Professor of Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies at the University of Florida. She is a recent doctoral graduate of Indiana University Bloomington's Department of Gender Studies, where her dissertation work contributed historical, critical, and quantitative analyses of chronic vulovaginal pain experiences, particularly among Black and Brown women. Dr. Adams' collaborative research program continues to focus on themes of healthcare seeking behaviors, medical mistrust, healthcare disparities, and patient experiences in sexual and reproductive healthcare contexts. She also plans to expand her work to investigate the role of heteronormativity in chronic vulvovaginal pain patient experiences.

(She/Her) is a Black Mother-Scholar and PhD candidate in the Faculty of Education at York University, Canada. Her research explores the intersections of Black Motherwork, critical disability studies, and Black student experiences in higher education, grounded in Black feminist thought, critical race theory, and Black dis/ability politics. Prilly teaches a Black studies course at York University titled Cultures of Resistance, where students engage with historical and contemporary issues of Black life in the Americas. She serves as an advisory board member for a federally funded project “Black Maternal Pedagogies” and is the Justice, Equity, and Redress of Anti-Black Racism committee representative at her university. Prilly is deeply committed to advancing the work of Black womxn scholars, activists, artists, and community members across borders and within Black diasporic communities.

Dr. Nneka D. Dennie is Assistant Professor of History, core faculty in Africana Studies, and affiliate faculty in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Washington and Lee University. She is also the co-founder of BWSA. Dr. Dennie’s research examines African American intellectual thought with an emphasis on nineteenth-century Black women. Her first book, Mary Ann Shadd Cary: Essential Writings of a Nineteenth-Century Black Radical Feminist, was published with Oxford University Press in 2023. Her monograph, Redefining Radicalism: Black Women Intellectuals in the Nineteenth Century, is a study of early Black radical thought. In 2024, Dr. Dennie received the Mellon Emerging Faculty Leaders Award from the Institute of Citizens and Scholars. Her work has been supported by the Center for Black Digital Research at Pennsylvania State University, as well as fellowships at Davidson College and MIT. Dr. Dennie’s work has been published in Palimpsest: A Journal on Women, Gender, and the Black International; Feminist Studies; Atlantic Studies: Global Currents; Slate; Business Insider; and more.

Simone Dalton is an author, writing coach, story steward, and speaker who spent more than a decade as a public relations professional. Her work is anthologized in ARC Poetry Magazine, Watch Your Head, Black Writers Matter, and The Unpublished City: Volume I. Recipient of the 2020 RBC Taylor Emerging Writer Prize for nonfiction, she holds an MFA from the University of Guelph. As a story steward, Simone has worked with writers, ages 14 to 80+, in Canada and the United States, and served as an Adjunct Professor at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in 2022. She is one of the inaugural Black Teaching Fellows of the Boston creative arts centre GrubStreet. In 2023, she co-founded her company, Island Scribe, which curates spaces for women and nonbinary writers of colour. Its signature program is an annual writing retreat, which is inspired by a long tradition of Caribbean writers who return to the region to dream, think, and create. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Simone lives in Toronto and is working on her first memoir.

“Nós por Nós: Black Women in the Frontlines of Politics of Care”
Ana Carolina Assumpção (she/her) is a Brazilian Journalist and doctorate student at the Institute of Latin American Studies (LLILAS), at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research project combines Race and Feminist Geopolitical studies. Specifically, she focuses on forms of anti-blackness resistance and new futurities. She works with social movement collectives and Black women's organizations in Rio de Janeiro's favelas (urban slums). She worked as a curator and producer of artistic events for public schools in Brazil, and at the University of Texas at Austin, she promoted conferences, and cultural events, as The Theater of The Oppressed Symposium.

Barbie Parker is a graduate student at the University of Louisville, specializing in Pan African Studies with a secondary focus in Criminal Justice. With over 10 years of service in the U.S. Army, Parker brings a unique perspective to her academic pursuits. Her research interests include Black Feminist Thought and Post-Colonial Theory, with a commitment to exploring the intersections of race, gender, and power in historical and contemporary contexts. Through her studies, she aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of social justice and the ongoing impact of colonial legacies on marginalized communities

“Cognitive Justice and Black Women’s Spiritualities: Afrocentric and Feminist Perspectives on Religion/Spirituality in Quebec”

Diahara Traoré is a professor at the Université de Montréal's School of Social Work. Her research interests focus on Black African feminine spiritualities and religiosities, non-Western epistemologies in social work, group work and wellness in Black communities, and the place of religion and spirituality in social work. Her work focuses on cosmologies, beliefs and practices within African communities in Quebec, gendered knowledge within these communities, and their implications for social work training and research. As a socio-anthropologist, she attaches great importance to narratives and orality. Her aim is to develop practices and knowledge that promote the emancipation and inclusion of marginalized groups, by valuing critical perspectives.

Dr. Ashley Farmer is an internationally known and award winning writer, researcher, and cultural analyst who explores and reports on Black history and its implications today. She is the author of Remaking Black Power: How Black Women Transformed an Era and Queen Mother: Black Nationalism, Reparations, and the Untold Story of Audley Moore. Farmer’s ideas and insights have appeared in numerous venues including Harper's Bazaar, NPR, the Washington Post, and Teen Vogue. Ashley lives, reads, and writes in Austin, Texas, and teaches at the University of Texas at Austin.

“Not Gon’ Cry’: Trauma and Depression in Black Women”
DeAnna Harris-McKoy is currently an Associate Professor and Specialization in Marriage and Family Therapy Program Director at Northern Illinois University. She received two Bachelor of Science degrees from University of Maryland College Park in Family Studies and Psychology, a Master of Family Therapy from Drexel University, an MBA from University of Maryland Global Campus, and a doctorate in Marriage and Family Therapy from The Florida State University.  Her research focuses on Black mental health, adolescents, and social justice within the field of MFT. She received multiple awards for her community service, social justice work, and leadership.

“Everyday Resistance in the Lives of Black Women”

Danielle Black is a 4th year Doctoral Student studying Clinical and Community Psychology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). Her research explores Black women’s resistance, emotions, and intergenerational relationships. Danielle is also a teaching fellow, currently teaching Psychology and Culture to undergraduate students, and a clinical trainee at a community mental health clinic. Prior to attending UMBC, Danielle graduated from Clark University in Worcester, MA where she studied psychology, women’s and gender studies, comparative race and ethnic studies, and creative writing. Danielle centers her passion for art, storytelling, and accessible education across her different roles. 

“Soul to Soul Healing: Transforming Intergenerational Trauma into Intergenerational Joy”

Dr. Kimberly J. Davis is a spiritual scholar, author, activist, educator, life coach, and intuitive healer. She is the founder of Journey to Wholeness Center, a holistic healing and wellness center; the founder of Journey Healing Institute, a healing-centered education non-profit; and is an adjunct professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies. Kimberly holds a PhD in Philosophy and Religion with a concentration in Women’s Spirituality from the California Institute of Integral Studies and a Masters in Business Administration in Finance from DePaul University. Her scholarship centers the lived experiences of African American women as they navigate and heal psychic, intergenerational, and historical trauma through embodied spiritualities. Through both scholarship and praxis, Kimberly advocates for the healing and empowerment of women who embody generational wounds as a result of internalized oppression rooted in racist, patriarchal belief systems. She collaborates with women to help them remember and reactivate their innate power to holistically heal—mind, body, emotion, and spirit. Kimberly is committed to using her voice, ancestral wisdom, intuitive gifts, and educational platform to advance the healing and evolution of women in general and Black women in particular.

“Training Future Scholars Amid Attacks on Academic Freedom”

Dr. Garrison-Harrison is completing a monograph on Black women’s community activism in Georgia during the modern Civil Rights Movement era, a manuscript on Louisiana’s Black female Bounce artists, an essay on antebellum matriarchal culture, and producing a documentary short about southern Black women activists. At Southern University, she is co-coordinating the launching of new programming. Upcoming publications include an article on the geographies of Black southern women and an institutional biographical essay on the history of Southern University and Agricultural & Mechanical College for a project that centers the historical relevance of Historically Black College and Universities (HBCU.) Recent pubs include co-authoring “Remembering Jacqueline Anne Rouse, 1950–2020: Scholarship, Educational Advocacy, and Mentoring as Audacious Leadership.”

"(Re)Imagining Desirable Futures through Archival and Speculative Methodologies."
Maya Revell (she/her) is a 4th-year PhD Candidate in Environmental Studies, Science, and Policy at the University of Oregon.  She has a focal concentration in Critical and Sociocultural Studies in Education and a secondary concentration in Indigenous, Race, and Ethnic Studies. Broadly, her research focuses on climate education, Black relationships to land and water, and co-creating livable futures.

“Gendering the Black Radical Tradition: Archiving the Genesis of Contemporary Black Canadian Feminist Projects”

Sarah George is a doctoral student in Sociology specializing in African Studies at Carleton University. Her research interests are African studies, Black studies, and the Sociology of race, gender, and knowledge in settler colonial. Sarah is a Joseph Armand Bombardier Scholar, whose work is funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. She teaches a community-engaged sociology course and is the Graduate Student Rep for the Black Canadian Studies Association, founder of the Institute of African Studies Emerging Scholar Conference and the Umoja Black Community Engagement Program, and on board of directors for the Canadian Women of Color Leadership Network.

“Links to the Health and Well-being of Black Women Engaged in Activism”

Michelle Y. Martin Romero, PhD, is an assistant professor of Public Health Education at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. She received her Ph.D. in Biobehavioral Health from The Pennsylvania State University and completed postdoctoral training in developmental science as an NIH T32 fellow. Dr. Martin Romero’s research program seeks to understand resilience and resistance processes in the context of racialized stressors among racially-ethnically minoritized individuals, families, and communities in the U.S. Ultimately, her goal is to support the health and wellbeing of communities as they navigate ever-present and complex systems of oppression that ultimately deteriorate health and quality of life. 

“Addressing the Urgent Need for Transformative Change in Sports and Education among Black Female Athletes”

Lexi Kier is a doctoral student in Public Health Education at the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. She earned her B.S. in Psychology from Virginia Tech and her M.S. in Kinesiology with a concentration in Sport and Exercise Psychology. Lexi’s research will explore Christian faith-informed resilience and mental wellness among Black athletes, with a particular focus on how faith-informed interventions can serve as protective factors against race-and-sport-related stressors. Her goal is to destigmatize help-seeking while integrating a Christian faith foundation within psychotherapy, ensuring that culturally relevant, spiritually aligned mental health support is accessible and effective for Black athletes.

“Empowering Black Immigrant and Refugee Women: Advocacy and Well-being in Guilford County, NC”

Sharon Morrison Sharon D. Morrison, MSPH, MHSE, PhD is Professor in the Department of Public Health Education, the Community Engaged Fellow for the School of Health and Human Sciences and a Research Fellow with the Center for New North Carolinians at the University of North Carolina Greensboro (UNCG). Her teaching, interdisciplinary research and service are focused on the integration, cultural adaptation, health and empowerment of racially and ethnically diverse immigrants and refugees. This includes a focus on refugee-origin grassroots efforts such as the UMOJA group, where African refugee women mobilize and support each other as they survive and thrive within integration spaces in U.S. communities. 

“Giving You Your Flowers: ACommunity-Centered Approach to Supporting Black Women in Activism”

Asha A. Abiade, MSPH, is passionate about making healthcare more accessible and equitable. With a Master’s of Science in Public Health from Johns Hopkins and a background in chemistry from Xavier University of Louisiana, she blends clinical expertise with a deep commitment to health education. As a Clinical Medical Assistant at a family practice, she delivers hands-on patient care while actively advocating for improved health outcomes. Committed to reducing healthcare disparities, she strives to enhance access, education, and equity in patient care. Asha will soon begin her medical school journey at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Serenity Bryant is an undergraduate student in Public Health Education at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Her research explores on the unique challenges Black maternal women and Black women face in healthcare, examining the systemic oppression that limits access and quality of care. Dedicated to creating a more equitable healthcare system, Serenity’s work aims to dismantle barriers and foster safe, inclusive community environments where Black women can thrive. Her commitment to promoting equality in healthcare reflects her broader goal of achieving lasting social change and empowerment for marginalized communities. 

“Why Is Misogyny Everywhere?”

Wonda Powell, Professor Emerita of History with special interest in African American women. A graduate of the University of Michigan, and M.A. from UCLA, she has served the educational community for more than forty years in the Los Angeles Community College District. She shares her experiences and knowledge through motivational talks to young and old. She is a poet and author of Girl Find Me A Safety Pin!

“Black Feminist Leaders and Achievers: Providing Contemporary Solutions in the Proud Combahee River/Hamer Traditions”

Dr. Lisbeth Gant-Britton, Associate Professor Adjunct, Los Angeles Community College system (LACCD), also teaches at California State University, Northridge (CSUN): (African American Studies, African American history, and Ethnic Studies.) Former administrator/adjunct faculty, African American Studies Department, UCLA. Also former Marlene Crandall Francis Professor of the Humanities in the English Department, Kalamazoo College, Michigan. Two textbooks: Holt African American History, digitized by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2018. Her first book on African American history was recognized by the Los Angeles mayor’s office with a special award for its contribution to racial understanding through education.

"How Can Black Feminist Intersectionality Promote International Solidarity with Middle Eastern, Sudanese and Ukrainian Women"

Frieda Afary, Philosophy M.A., M.L.I.S., is an Iranian American public librarian, translator, writer, activist in Los Angeles.  She is the author of Socialist Feminism:  A New Approach (Pluto Press, 2022) (Audible, 2025).  She produces the blogs,  Iranian Progressives in Translation and socialistfeminism.org

Dr. Annette Joseph-Gabriel, is the John Spencer Bassett Associate Professor of Romance Studies and Associate Professor of Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies at Duke University. She is the author of Reimagining Liberation: How Black Women Transformed Citizenship in the French Empire, which was awarded the Modern Language Association Prize for a First Book; Honorable Mention for the Eugen Weber Award for best book in modern French history; and was a finalist for the FETKANN Maryse Condé literary prize in France. She is the co-editor of Shirley Graham Du Bois: Artist, Activist, and Author in the African Diaspora, forthcoming from the University of Pennsylvania Press, and is currently at work on her second monograph, Enslaved Childhoods: Survival and Storytelling in the Atlantic World. She has had Op-Eds, commentary, and profiles of her work featured in outlets including Al Jazeera, HuffPost, the Washington Post, Le Monde, France Culture, France 24 and Radio France Internationale. She is a recipient of the Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women and Politics and her research has been supported by awards from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Humanities Center among others. She serves as senior editor of Palimpsest: A Journal on Women, Gender, and the Black International and co-editor of the Global Black Writers in Translation series at Vanderbilt University Press.

Dr. Jamal Watson, is the executive editor of Diverse: Issues In Higher Education, a national trade publication founded in 1984 that covers issues of diversity, equity and inclusion within higher education. Watson is also a professor and associate dean of graduate studies at Trinity Washington University in Washington, D.C. A native of Philadelphia, Watson earned his bachelor’s degree in English and Theology from Georgetown University; a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University; a master’s degree in higher education from the University of Delaware and a master’s and Ph.D. in Afro-American Studies from University of Massachusetts, Amherst. He is the author of two forthcoming books: The Evolution of Al Sharpton (2026) and The Student Debt Crisis (2025). His writings have appeared in a number of publications including The Washington Monthly, The Baltimore Sun and USA Today and he has been featured on CNN, NPR and MSNBC.

Ginetta Candelario, is Professor of Sociology and Latin American & Latina/o Studies, and a faculty affiliate of the Latin American and Latin@ Studies Program, the Study of Women and Gender Program, and the Community Engagement and Social Change Concentration at Smith College in Northampton, MA. She was the founding Vice President of the National Latin@ Studies Association (LSA) inaugurated in 2016 and has been a founding executive committee member of the New England Consortium for Latina/o Studies (NECLS) since 2011. She has also served on the Executive Council of the Latin American Studies Association, and on both the Committee on Professional Ethics (COPE) and the Finance Committee of the American Sociological Association. Professor Candelario's research and teaching area include Dominican history and society, with a focus on national identity formation and women’s history; Blackness in the Americas; Latin American, Caribbean and Latina feminisms; Latina/o communities (particularly Cuban, Dominican and Puerto Rican); U.S. beauty culture; and museum studies. She has won several teaching awards at Smith and the Five Colleges for her community-based learning and research classes. She has been a Fulbright Scholar in the Dominican Republic twice (2003 and 2016), and was the Wilbur Marvin Fellow at the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University in 2021. Candelario has been the Editor of Meridians: feminism, race, transnationalism (published by Duke University Press) since 2017, and has published several award-winning books and articles in both the U.S. and the Dominican Republic.

Lucas Church acquire books in several different academic areas, including Appalachian Studies, literary studies, sociology and social sciences. He trades his trade acquisitions—books aimed at a general readership—He look for books that show and tell the stories behind the art, music, literature, and architecture of North Carolina and the South in new and exciting ways. He also acquire in creative non-fiction, where he focuses on well-rendered essays and long-form journalism about place and race that look at local, national, and global issues. He received my BA in English from Appalachian State University and his MFA in creative writing, concentrating in fiction, from North Carolina State University.

Dr. Stephanie Andrea Allen, Ph.D. is an interdisciplinary humanities scholar, creative writer, small press publisher, and Assistant Professor of Gender Studies at Indiana University. Her research centers Black lesbian cultural histories and Black feminisms through various expressions, including literature, film, and other print and visual media. Her current book project “We Must Document Ourselves Now:” Black Lesbian Cultural Legacies and the Politics of Self-Representation, (under contract at The Ohio State University Press), examines the essential, but oft-ignored importance of Black lesbian literature and visual media in queer literary and film histories. Her scholarly writing can be found in Women, Gender, and Families of Color, Archeion: Journal of Queer Archives, Feminists Talk Whiteness, Sinister Wisdom, and in other academic spaces.

Dr. Allen is also Publisher and Editor-in-Chief at BLF Press. Her creative work can be found in various online and print publications, including The Black Femme Collective, Mom Egg Review, Star*Line, Big Echo: Critical Science Fiction Magazine, Sinister Wisdom, and in her two short story collections, A Failure to Communicate and How to Dispatch a Human: Stories and Suggestions. When she has time, Dr. Allen can be found making artisan soap and playing with her recently adopted kitten, James Midnight.

Dr. Nneka D. Dennie is Assistant Professor of History, core faculty in Africana Studies, and affiliate faculty in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Washington and Lee University. She is also the co-founder of BWSA. Dr. Dennie’s research examines African American intellectual thought with an emphasis on nineteenth-century Black women. Her first book, Mary Ann Shadd Cary: Essential Writings of a Nineteenth-Century Black Radical Feminist, was published with Oxford University Press in 2023. Her monograph, Redefining Radicalism: Black Women Intellectuals in the Nineteenth Century, is a study of early Black radical thought. In 2024, Dr. Dennie received the Mellon Emerging Faculty Leaders Award from the Institute of Citizens and Scholars. Her work has been supported by the Center for Black Digital Research at Pennsylvania State University, as well as fellowships at Davidson College and MIT. Dr. Dennie’s work has been published in Palimpsest: A Journal on Women, Gender, and the Black International; Feminist Studies; Atlantic Studies: Global Currents; Slate; Business Insider; and more.

Dr. Jessica S. Samuel is the founder & CEO of Radical Education & Advocacy League, LLC (REAL), an educational equity firm focused on helping BIPOC students thrive, not just survive. She is an educator, interdisciplinary scholar, and decolonial activist whose work focuses on race, education, colonialism and the environment, including where they all might converge, in the United States and Caribbean. Dr. Samuel served as an appointed member of the Racial Imbalance Advisory Council for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and is a member of Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC). She is also Education Committee Chair for Right to Democracy, an organization committed to confronting U.S. colonialism in all five American territories. Dr. Samuel holds a PhD in American Studies from Boston University, a Master of Education from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and a Bachelor in African American Studies and Anthropology from Wesleyan University. Most recently, Dr. Samuel has been appointed as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of African & African American Studies at Washington University in St. Louis.

Dr. Shauna Rigaud is a cultural studies scholar whose work explores the intersections of race, gender, identity, and power within the African diaspora, with a particular focus on the anglophone Caribbean. Her research interests seek to draw doted lines between Black American and Caribbean American experiences, through the work of women, cultural practices, and ideas of solidarity and nation building. A first-generation college graduate, her academic journey began at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst where she earned a B.A. in Afro-American History. She holds a dual Master’s in Gender/Cultural Studies and Communication Management from Simmons University in Boston and she completed her PhD in Cultural Studies from George Mason University, in Virginia. She is currently the Associate Director of the Office of Community Engagement and Civic Learning at George Mason University. She is also a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Incorporated.