How we discuss, historicize, display and curate Black artistic creativity and legacies are matters of public concern. The scholarship and teaching of critical race art history and museum studies are enriched, indeed strengthened, by their intersection with African American public humanities.

Jesse Erickson

I have the unique opportunity at the University of Delaware to teach and work in special collections. Much of my work involves finding ways to make the University’s African American rare book and archival collections come alive through course instruction, curating exhibitions, and engaging in community outreach. It is a true privilege to be able to teach and mentor students who are likewise interested in serving the public in this way.

Cheryl Hicks

African American Public Humanities makes our understanding of History richer in that it engages not just one methodological approach but a myriad of explorations into the lives of those Black people who did not leave a readily-accessible archive.

Laura Helton

The field of African American Studies has always had the imperatives of social justice and community engagement at its heart. AAPHI allows students to actively pursue those imperatives as part of their graduate work by providing training, resources, and support for public-facing research, internships, creative projects, and community partnerships.

Ikem Okoye

It is practically impossible to speak of any form of art and architecture that has not incorporated some form of evaded privilege (for instance patrons versus makers) and/or of race (for instance slavery mechanisms in Africa and its representation in African, European, and American art, or, by contrast, my work on the racist basis of European colonialism and its postcolonial aftermath as represented in both architecture and art).

Jennifer Van Horn

In my courses I aim for interdisciplinary collaboration, providing opportunities for students to engage in object-based and project-based learning and critical discussion of racial justice issues. A core aim of my seminars is to offer students hands-on experiences with historic artifacts, field-based learning opportunities, and public-facing assignments that contribute to area cultural institutions. My current book project, Portraits of Resistance: Activating Art During Slavery, interrogates how American portraits of the 18th and 19th centuries were participants in a battle over Black personhood that took place at the level of the individual and the nation. The book examines how portraiture was both a technology used to deny Black agency and aesthetic achievement and a means for enslaved African Americans to reaffirm their humanity and creativity.