University at Buffalo  The State University of New York 

Newsletter 
Department of African American Studies 


May/June, Volume 2, no.1, 2006-2007 Academic Year

Greetings from the Chair

This is the final newsletter that I will pen as chair of African American Studies. I am proud of the record that we have established over the years and this year is no exception. First, I personally want to commend our constituents—our students--on their successes and to thank the faculty for their commitment to them. The African American Studies class of 2007 is outstanding. Several student interns served in research programs that addressed public policy. This class comprises the largest number of honors graduates in recent years. On behalf of the faculty and staff I want to congratulate our graduates and wish them well as they begin a new phase in their lives. Some will be pursuing graduate degrees at major research universities, while others will be launching careers. Special accolades go to Damien-Adia Norris Mickunas, who received the College of Arts and Sciences “Outstanding Senior Award.” This class exemplifies excellence. As I reflect upon its accomplishments, I am reminded of former South African President Nelson Mandela’s inaugural address and I would like to share part of it with you our graduates, for you embody the mission of the University at Buffalo and African American Studies. Mr. Mandela also speaks passionately about the importance of service.

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.  We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?  Actually who are you not to be?  You are a child of God.  Your playing small doesn't serve the world.  There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.  We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone.  And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give others permission to do the same.  As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

Nelson Mandela Inaugural Speech, 1994

As graduates of a public institution each of you have a responsibility to give back to your community. Serve them well and as you go forward make alma mater proud!

As African American Studies approaches forty years of providing excellence in scholarship, teaching, community service and culture, it is undergoing change that will further strengthen it and its ability to enhance the intellectual traditions in the university and the community. This academic year has been one in which the department has been in a reflective mode as it addresses its future. It is committed to providing students with an outstanding, rigorous, and engaging intellectual experience. The department hired an outstanding faculty member in Dr. Peter J. Hudson who will come on board this fall.

The department continues its outreach into the Buffalo community. New partnerships will permit African American Studies to extend further its tradition of community-building and social engagement throughout the Niagara Frontier.

Finally, the African American Studies lecture fund has been endowed and the department will be able to bring some of the most provocative national and international intellects to campus to elucidate our understanding of issues relating to Africa and its Diaspora. It will continue its tradition of inviting creative artists to campus and mounting exhibitions for the Niagara region, also.

After five years of service, I resigned as chair of African American Studies to return to teaching and to resume my scholarship which has been on hold for too long. My tenure as chair saw many changes in the department including two ladder faculty hires, and additional adjunct hires; the creation and endowment of a lecture fund, the first in an African American Studies Department in the SUNY system; sponsorship of a highly successful national conference and major lecture series; rehabilitation of the office suite that created a student-friendly environment; and partnerships extending into the campus and community that facilitated my ability to guide the department into these areas. I am grateful for the support which I received from faculty, administrators and staff throughout the university. My resignation will become effective on 1 July. Professor James Pappas, former chair and long-time African American Studies faculty member, will assume the position of interim chair.

Best wishes for an enjoyable and productive summer!

Lillian S. Williams,Chair

The Class of 2007 Graduates

Professor Williams with Kari McKree Brook, Damien-Adia Mickunas and Dominique Davis

The African American Studies class of 2007 includes14 majors and 8 minors. Notable achievements of our graduates include:

Damien-Adia Norris Mickunas was the recipient of the CAS Outstanding Senior Award; he was admitted Masters program in UB’s English Department.

Kari McCree Brook, an Honors graduate, will be attending the University of Rochester to pursue a graduate degree in education.

Dominique Davis graduated with Honors and will be pursuing a degree in Social Work at SUNY Stony Brook.

Shahar Azoulay, Honors, was admitted to the Yale Law School.

Dimitrious Jones will pursue graduate work in American Studies at UB in the fall.

Onikute Cuthbert completed a triple major: African American Studies, History and International Studies; he plans to study in France in the fall.

African American Studies Hires Assistant Professor

Peter James Hudson will join the African American Studies Department as an assistant professor beginning in the fall of 2007. Dr. Hudson completed his doctorate “The Tropics in New York: Race, Banking and Empire in the Caribbean, 1889-1929” in American Studies at the New York University in May. He brings a wealth of talent and experience to UB. Hudson received a post-doctoral fellowship for academic year 2007-2008 and he will be in-residence in the Caribbean Studies Institute at the University of Toronto.

Faculty News

Colleagues joined Dr. Henry at the Marriott to thank him for over thirty years of service to African American Studies and to wish him a happy and productive retirement.

Professor Keith Henry, who retired from African American Studies in 2005, completed his final semester of teaching at UB this spring.

Peter Ekeh gave a keynote address “Individuals Alienation from the State in African History,” at Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria, November 1, 2006.

Peter Ekeh continued to organize the annual international conference of the Urhobo Historical Society and to exercise leadership responsibilities in the organization, November 2006.

James Pappas mounted an exhibition Innerspace Series at St Bonaventure University; Five by Five (A Jazz Photography group show) at the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport and also at the Horizon Gallery in Buffalo.

An interview with James Pappas “Is Long-shelved Disney classic coming back?” appeared on the AP wire and on CNN.com, March 28, 2007.

Lillian S. Williams was a panelist on the Plenary Session: 80th Anniversary of The Journal of African American History, and presented an essay “The Journal and Blacks in Cities,” the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, October, 2006 in Atlanta, Georgia.

Damien-Adia Norris Mickunas received the 2007 CAS Outstanding Senior Award in African American Studies; he was admitted to UB’s English Department to pursue a Master of Arts Degree.

Professor Peter Ekeh received the Excellent Achievement Award from the Kingdom of Agbara-Ame, Warri, Niger Delta, Nigeria for outstanding scholarship on the history of Warri City in Warri City and British Colonial Rule in Western Niger Delta.

Professor Ekeh received an honorary degree of Doctor of Science, Delta State University, Abraka, Nigeria.

Adjunct professors and Uncrowned Queens Executive Directors Drs. Barbara S. Nevergold and Peggy Brooks Bertram were inducted into the Western New York Women’s Hall of Fame for the pioneering work that they have done through the Uncrowned Queens Institute.

Drs. Barbara S. Nevergold and Peggy Brooks Bertram presented a workshop on “Uncrowned Queens” at the Women’s Caucus of the National Conference of Black Mayors in Baton Rouge, Louisiana in May.

Professor Lillian S. Williams, Principal Investigator, shared an Educational Technology Center grant of $8,500 with Co-PI Professor Michael Frisch to bring to UB the Chicago-based national, digital oral history collection “The HistoryMakers. The project “Beta-Testing a Large-Scale Video Database of African American Oral Histories: UB’s Role in a Test of an Innovative IT Resource (The HistoryMakers).” The UB project represents collaboration between African American Studies, the Educational Technology Center, the College of Arts and Sciences and the Randforce Technology incubator.

AAS Received Special Contributions to the Endowed Lectureship Fund

When Professor Lillian S. Williams assumed the position of chair in 2002 she established an endowed lecture fund. The fund will permit AAS to bring national and international scholars to the University to enrich the intellectual climate for faculty and students. This year the African American Studies lectureship has been endowed. The department will be able to sponsor an annual lecture beginning with academic year 2007-2008. The fund enjoys loyal support from faculty, students and friends of African American Studies. ( Donate to AAS)

Comparative Literature Honor Student

Graduating senior Ms. Balbir K. Singh received several honors at this year’s commencement including the Chancellor’s Award for Excellence, the College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Senior Award and the Division of Student Affairs Senior Leadership Award. The outstanding Senior Award carries with it a monetary prize of $500.00 and Ms. Singh donated $250.00 to the African American Studies Endowed Lectureship Fund.

Donation Commemorates a Life Committed to Civic Engagement

The African American Studies Endowed Lectureship Fund received a donation of $500.00 to commemorate the life of Virginia Poyer, a long time civic leader who died in Albany, New York at age 93. Ms. Poyer conducted much of her work through the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs and its affiliates, including the Maria C. Lawton Civic and Cultural Club, Inc. She also was an active member in the Links. Virginia Poyer used these organizations as platforms to promote African American history and culture and the education of black children. She was a founding member of the Ten Broeck Triangle Preservation League, and the Arbor Hill Concerned Citizens of Albany.

Student Interns

Seniors Abdalla Abdulgadir, Dominque Davis, Dimitrius Jones and Kari McCree Brook enrolled in the AAS internship course where they worked with Dr. Henry L. Taylor and his staff on the Urban Institute’s housing initiative in the Fruit Belt section of Buffalo. These students comprised a team that engaged in original research that included census records, Sanborn maps, and other local and regional government documents. They gained valuable knowledge regarding public policy issues. One student noted, “Overall, I enjoyed the hands-on research part of the project. I was actually excited when I made new discoveries for the project. I’ve learned so much that I really never knew existed. Perhaps the most rewarding part is that I will be able to carry the research skills gained from this project throughout life.” We encourage students to take advantage of the internship experience.

Donate to the Endowed Lecture Series Fund

The Department seeks to establish an annual lectureship fund that will bring renowned scholars from within the country and around the world to campus. You may make tax free contributions by check, charge card or payroll deductions through the University at Buffalo Foundation. Visit our online donations page at our website:
http://africanamericanstudies.buffalo.edu/index.shtml


Contributors: Bertha Boston, Jessie Carter, Lillian S. Williams
http://wings.buffalo.edu/academic/department/AandL/aas/index.shtml