Overview
I am a historian of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century United States who specializes in the study of Black Women’s experiences. I focus on intellectual, social, and religious history.
My committee members are Edward Baptist, Tamika Nunley, and Derrick Spires
Research Focus
My research investigates how Black female missionaries imagined and interacted with Africa at the turn of the twentieth century. It considers the writings, cultural artifacts, and everyday actions of Black female missionaries as evidence of Black female transnational thought. My dissertation also explores how ideas of cross-cultural Black affinity were shaped by the voices of African women who, by their customs and behaviors, complicated romantic U.S. notions of diasporic connection. Black churchwomen thus provide an ideal opportunity to examine the diverse meanings and tensions of Afrodiasporic consciousness.