We are excited to hear from our student scholars!
Demetrius Murphy, Vanderbuilt University
Demetrius Miles Murphy, originally from Gary, IN, is completing his master's in Latin American Studies at Vanderbilt University. In the fall, he will continue his graduate studies in Los Angeles at USC pursuing a PhD in Sociology. His master's thesis, "Doing Business in the Black: Afro-Brazilian Entrepreneurship as Resistance to Anti-Blackness in São Paulo, Brazil, focuses on Latin America. However, his general research comparatively examines the Black middle class, Black entrepreneurship, and racialized economic activities in the Americas.
Magana Kabugi, Vanderbuilt University
Magana Kabugi is a Ph.D. candidate in English at Vanderbilt University and an adjunct professor of English at Fisk University. Magana received his B.A. in literature from American University and his M.A. from Vanderbilt. His research focuses on historically black colleges and universities, African and African American literature, and black children’s literature. He is currently working on his dissertation, which examines the role of artistic and literary production in the building of America’s HBCU sector.
Webster Heath, Vanderbuilt University
Webster Heath received his B.A. in English literature from California State University Northridge (2015) and his M.A. from Vanderbilt, where he is currently a second year PhD student. His research interests include 20th Century Western Hemispheric Literature, Diasporic Studies, Black and Latin American social movements, Hip-hop, and Film & Media Studies. Recently research focuses on the hustler-figure in hip-hop and its allusion to African trickster gods as well as Third Cinema and its discussions of race and nationhood.
Grace Gipson, University of California Berkeley
Grace D. Gipson is a Visiting Lecturer in African American Studies at Georgia State University and a doctoral candidate in the African American Studies program with a designated emphasis in New Media at the University of California Berkeley. Grace’s area of research interest centers on black popular culture, digital humanities, representations of race and gender within comic books & graphic novels, Afrofuturism, and race and new media. Her current dissertation project interrogates the formation of a Black female superhero identity within comics and graphic novels through such topics as, Radical Black feminism, disability as an empowering 'new normal', promoting Black Girl Magic in STEM, and creating a new media legacy for Black female voices. Grace’s work has been featured in various publications and book chapters in such outlets as Huffington Post, NPR.org, and Black Perspectives. Outside of the formal classroom, you can find Grace collecting stamps on her international travel discoveries, participating in one fifth of the #BlackComicsChat twitter podcast crew, and giving back to the community through a myriad of projects and organizations.
Queen Jonafa' Tervalon, Clark Atlanta University
Queen Jonafa' Tervalon is a junior, political science major at Clark Atlanta University. Her career interests is to become a scholar on ethics, especially as it relates to the intersections of global anti-blackness, global sexism, religion, and government. She is currently a teacher's assistant for Dr. Platt, Director of the Honors and Scholars Program at CAU. The class focuses on research and developing the student's curiosity through academia. She is also the vice president of the Undergraduate Research Club, "Where Passion and Purpose meets Research". Through that organization she created a low-cost GRE preparation course for students to feel more comfortable taking the test without paying hundreds of dollars to do so. She hopes to attend Divinity School before she enters into a PhD program in political theory or political sociology.
Brandon Ghoram, Morehouse College
Brandon Ghoram is a psychology major with a background in social justice initiatives and research targeting underserved communities and populations. His academic interest is in merging statistics, theory, and behavioral analysis to transform data into meaningful information to solve problems for social good.
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Delvon Benson, Clark Atlanta University
Delvon Adiah Benson is a Doctoral Student at Clark Atlanta University in the Humanities department with a concentration in African-American Studies. He moved to Atlanta, Georgia from his native hometown of Pendleton, South Carolina to complete his academic research on Black Megachurches and their participation in social justice and charity-based services in the United States. His other research interests include: Black Religiosity, Christian
Hip Hop/Rap, Pan-Africanism, Technology Infusion and Diffusion within religious spaces, and Digital Humanities. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in African and African American Studies from Claflin University in Orangeburg, SC, and a Master’s Degree in Liberal Studies from the University of Toledo in Toledo, OH. he has previously worked in the capacity of a Direct Care Staff/Counselor for Children and as a Graduate Assistant in an Academic Archives. He currently, serves as a Library Assistant-Interlibrary Loan at the Atlanta University Center- Robert . Woodruff Library in Atlanta, Georgia. He is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.
Keita "Baba Sipho" Thompson, Clark Atlanta University
Baba Keita Sipho has now retired from the music business. Over the years, as a singer-songwriter, keyboardist and producer, he has performed all over the world and worked with such artists as Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind and Fire, Kenny Lattimore, Keith Martin, BoysIIMen, Denise Williams and most importantly, his grandson, hip-hop artist, King Issa. He was blessed to perform for President Bill Clinton at the White House. Although a seasoned professional, Baba Keita graduated summa cum laude, receiving his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management from Bauder College in 2010. He also graduated summa cum laude, receiving his Masters in Business Administration in 2015. He will complete his Master of Arts degree in African American Studies in May 2019 and will continue at Clark Atlanta University to complete the doctoral program in African American Studies, graduating in May 2021. Baba Keita is currently an Immigration Program Analyst with the U.S. Department of Labor in Atlanta and has served over 20 years in the Federal government. A native Washingtonian, as a musician growing up in DC (formerly known as Chocolate City), Baba Keita has a very unique perspective on racism, education, life as an African-born-in-America, the significance of being a man of integrity, a loving father, grandfather and great grandfather and, most importantly, a husband to the most beautiful and extraordinary woman in the world.
Robert Cummings, Morehouse College
Black excellence in STEM is substantial given the rising demand for technical roles, namely in computing and engineering. However, many STEM programs are not efficiently inclusive to many of the cultural backgrounds of underrepresented minorities. Published post-baccalaureate researcher Robert T. Cummings develops and validates culturally relevant approaches to STEM education and outreach in the Culturally Relevant Computing Lab and HBCU STEM Identity Research Center at Morehouse College. Cummings has published and presented at a number of conferences including being featured in a special recognition presentation at SIGCSE, a top conference for computing education.
Danielle Gray, Mercy College
Danielle Gray is a member of the McNair Scholars Program. She is a senior at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York. Ms. Gray is an honors student who will graduate with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Media Studies: Radio and Television Production in May of 2019. Ms. Gray has taken various classes at Mercy College that have given her the opportunity to explore her interests and passions which include television production, journalism, and law. She was the recipient of The Quill Award for outstanding student achievement in Media Studies at Mercy College. She has received Quill Awards for Television Studio Production, Feature Article Writing, and Elements of Theatre. Ms. Gray works for The Irvington Hall Theater in Irvington, New York, as their Marketing Manager and Box Office Manager. She is the Vice President of the Mercy College Theatre Club and assists the Club President with planning and executing the annual student showcase. Ms. Gray’s previous research projects include the Effects Incarceration has on Housing Access and Musicians, Photographers, and Thespians: The Unconventional Representatives for Climate Change Awareness.
Dominique Young, University of Maryland, College Park
Dominique Young is a third year PhD student in English at the University of Maryland, College Park and a 2018-2019 SSRC Mellon Mays Predoctoral Research Fellow. She received her BA in English from CUNY Brooklyn College. Currently, her research focuses on African American women's popular fiction, film, and music videos from the 1990s.