Fall 2012 Volume 8 - Welcome to Africana Studies

28 Pages·2012·2.49 MB·English

AFRICANA STUDIES DEPARTMENT NEWSLETTER
Fall 2012 Volume 8
MESSAGE FROM THE DEPARTMENT CHAIR — AKIN OGUNDIRAN

Reflecting on 2011 and spring 2012. That’s 6409 stu- eye-opening travel to China, new affili-
the state of Af- dent credit hours (SCH). This puts the ate faculty appointments, hosting the
ricana Studies a department among the top 1% of all aca- third Africana Scholars Academy, orga-
few years ago, demic units in the university for the high- nizing the tenth annual Africana Studies
Dr. Abdul Alka- est SCH per faculty. One of the faculty symposium, or inaugurating the Char-
limat, arguably responsible for this high SCH – Professor lotte Africa Initiative.
the discipline’s Ola Aborisade - turned 80 this year.
most tenacious Again, in collaboration with colleagues in We embrace the fact that effective
archivist and and outside UNC Charlotte, we will cele- teaching and learning must involve col-
new media ad- brate his birthday this semester as an aca- laboration in many spheres, between
vocate, identi- demic event befitting such a titan in instructors and students, as well as be-
fied COL- higher education. tween faculty and technology profes-
LABORATION sionals. With a $20,000 grant from the
as one of the It was also collaboration that enabled us Center for Teaching and Learning,
salient princi- to inaugurate new academic programs last awarded to Dr. Debra Smith and her
ples and strategies that must guide the January, admitted students into the pro- collaborators, we are revamping our
discipline’s growth now and in the com- grams, and offered a wide range of new gateway course – AFRS 1100. Above
ing decades. This involves creating courses. Likewise, collaboration made the all, students are being empowered
knowledge communities beyond the Blacks on Stamp exhibition possible. And through collaboration with faculty to
confines of the Africana Studies depart- collaboration with the College of Arts and generate new ideas and to look beyond
ments/programs; reaching out across Architecture brought the annual Africana their college years to a future of service,
the university to scholars in the cognate Artist-in-Residence program into frui- meaningful productivity, and self-
fields; and forming partnerships with tion. The semester-long symposium on fulfillment. In this regard, we hear from
the larger communities. the Cash Crop exhibition at the Harvey B. two of our recent alumni in “far-away”
Gantt Center for African American Arts Tanzania and in “nearby” Queens Col-
COLLABORATION is indeed the unit- and Culture between January and May lege.
ing theme for the various stories we are also involved many faculty across the uni-
sharing with you in this volume about versity. It is also this spirit of collaboration that
what we are doing, and what we accom- motivated a faculty member and others
plished last academic year. New technologies now allow for re- to give generously to the Africana Stud-
search collaboration at a speed and with ies Scholarship Fund.
This is the fourth continuous publication efficiency never seen before. Disseminat-
of the annual Africana Studies Newslet- ing the results of our creative and re- This newsletter has four main compo-
ter in recent years. It is the eighth vol- search endeavors to the many publics we nents: (1) students’ reflections about
ume in our forty-plus years of existence study and serve meant that we must pay their experience in Africana Studies, (2)
as an academic unit. This volume repre- attention to the new media and new pub- academic/outreach programs, (3) pro-
sents the palpable energy in the depart- lication processes. We launched “Digital grammatic announcements, and (4)
ment. It is a collection of stories about Africana Studies” early this fall in order news about faculty research, including
our students, faculty, and recent to respond to this need. This was also Professor Ojaide’s record-breaking
alumni. possible through collaboration. four books in 2012.

Speaking in statistical terms, it was col- The spirit of collaboration pervades fac- Please read on. We value your collabo-
laboration that enabled 8.72 faculty ulty endeavors in the stories you will ration with our department.
members to teach 2136 students in fall read in this edition, be it Dr. Pereira’s AO
PAGE 2 AFRICANA STUDIES DEPARTMENT NEWSLETTER, 2012
CORE FACULTY
INSIDE THIS VOLUME

Oscar de la Torre Cueva, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Brazil and Afro-Latin
American history
DR. ABORISADE AT 80 3
Felix Germain, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Caribbean and the African Dias-
pora in Europe
NEW PUBLICATIONS 5-6
Veronica Nmoma Hilliard, Ph.D., Associate Professor, African Politics,
Development, and Conflict Studies
GRANT 11
Akin Ogundiran, Ph.D., Professor, Cultural History of Atlantic Africa and
the African Diaspora DR. PEREIRA IN CHINA 13
Tanure Ojaide, Ph.D., Professor, African and African Diaspora Literature/
Culture SCHOLARS ACADEMY 14
Debra Smith, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Race, Media, Pedagogy, and Com-
munication in the US STUDENTS’ PERSPECTIVES 16-19
Dorothy Smith-Ruiz, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Health, Aging and African
-American Life CONFERENCES, SYMPOSIA, 21-27
EXHIBITION & COMMUNITY
TEACHING FACULTY
Oladimeji Aborisade, Ph.D., Public Policy, Governance & Health in Africa
DR. MISSIHOUN — THE 28
Felecia Harris, Ph.D., Women’s and Gender, African American Studies,
ACADEMIC MISSIONARY
Multiculturalism and Diversity
Honore Missihoun, Ph.D., Black Atlantic, Lusophone, & Spanish Literature
Charles Pinckney, Ph.D., Hip-Hop Studies and Black Psychology

Annette Teasdell, M.A., African American Literature and Culture
CHAIR AND NEWSLETTER EDITOR
Dr. Akin Ogundiran

NEWSLETTER ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Dr. Oscar de la Torre

COORDINATOR, UNDERGRADUATE
Dr. Dorothy Smith-Ruiz
AFRS ACADEMIC PROGRAMS

• BA Africana Studies Major COORDINATOR, GRADUATE
Dr. Tanure Ojaide
• BA Africana Studies Major-Concentration in Health & Environment

• Minor in Africana Studies Africana Studies Department
Garinger 113
• Graduate Certificate in Africana Studies
9201 University City Blvd.
Charlotte, NC 28223

THE AFRICANA STUDIES DEPARTMENT OFFERS FOR GENERAL INQUIRY:
Office Manager: Janice Casteel
INTERDISCIPLINARY UNDERGRADUATE MAJOR
Phone: [phone]
AND MINOR, AS WELL AS A GRADUATE CERTIFI- Fax: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
CATE PROGRAM. ITS CURRICULUM EMPHASIZES

CULTURE, HISTORY, SOCIAL POLICY, HEALTH, VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT
AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP WWW.AFRICANA.UNCC.EDU

“Transnational Education in a Global City”
PAGE 3 AFRICANA STUDIES DEPARTMENT NEWSLETTER
CELEBRATING PROFESSOR OLADIMEJI (OLA) ABORISADE AT 80
This is Professor Oladimeji Aborisade at
80. A native of Ibadan – Africa’s second
largest city, Professor Aborisade rose by
dint of hard work, Grace of God, and
the full support of his parents - Abori-
sade Aremu of Morodun-Adetola family,
Ojagbo, Ibadan and Asande Bolaji of
Oguntope-Abina family, Labiran,
Ibadan. They died in 1954 and 1969
respectively.

During his youth, he enjoyed rural life in
Ataari and Adewumi-Araromi villages,
both near Ibadan, where his father was a
cocoa farmer and his mother a poultry
trader.

In 1954, Professor Oladimeji Aborisade
In the next fifteen years, Professor Among his publications are Tradi-
began his work experience as a Post and
Oladimeji Aborisade earned a Bache- tional Rulers in Nigeria; On Being in
Telegraph Linesman responsible for the
lor of Arts degree in Political Science Charge at the Grassroots Level; Local
construction of the First Control Tele-
from California State University, San Government Accounting Methods; Public
phone lines from Ibadan to Jebba, under
Bernardino; Master of Public Health Administration in Nigeria; State and
Engineer J.B. Marquis. At the comple-
(Health Services Administration) from Local Government in Nigeria; and with
tion of the project, he was deployed to
Loma Linda, California; Master of Robert Mundt, Politics in Nigeria and
Osogbo, the regional headquarter of
Administration in Business, from the The Discretionary Powers of Local Govern-
Nigeria’s Post and Telegraph Depart-
University of California, Riverside; ment. He received many grants for
ment, for another assignment. This took
and Ph.D. in Government from Clare- his research on Local Government
him to Ilesa and Ile-Ife for the conver-
mont Graduate University, California Studies, Health Care, and Democrati-
sion of overhead telephone lines into
(1977). He also did post-doctoral zation in Africa. Among many aca-
cable, to pave way for the electrification
training in Public Policy at Indiana demic honors and awards, he was a
of these two towns. This assignment
University, Bloomington; and in Or- fellow of the United States Informa-
was completed in December 1955.
ganizational Theory/Control at Jouy tion Service (USIS); grantee of the

En Josas in France. Ford Foundation; and a Fulbright
In 1956, he joined the Seventh Day Ad-
Scholar-in-Residence at the Univer-
ventist (SDA) Mission as an elementary
On September 7, 1977, Professor sity of North Carolina at Charlotte
school teacher at Alugbo village, near
Aborisade returned to Nigeria after and the North Carolina State Univer-
Ibadan for a pay of 52 pounds per an-
eighteen years away from home, to sity at Raleigh, 1996-1997.
num. In 1957, he was admitted into the
join the Department of Public Ad-
Teacher Training College at Otun-Ekiti.
ministration, University of Ife (now For most of his career, Professor
Upon graduation as a qualified teacher in
Obafemi Awolowo University - OAU) Oladimeji Aborisade was a scholar-
early 1959, he started teaching at the
as Lecturer Grade Two. He rose teacher-administrator. At Obafemi
SDA School, Ikun-Ekiti on a salary of
through the academic ranks to become Awolowo University, he was the
120 pounds per annum. The burning
Professor of Local Government Stud- Chair of the Department of Public
desire to further his education made him
ies in 1991. Administration, 1979-1984; Found-
leave for Bekwai, Ghana in June 1959 to
ing Chair, Department of Local
enroll in a general education program.
He published widely in his field. He is Government Studies, 1984-1988;
In September 1962, he left for North
(co)editor of nine books, author/co- and Dean, Faculty of Administra-
America for his college education.
author of four books and over thirty tion, 1989-1996. He also served as
articles and book chapters. continues on pages 4
PAGE 4 AFRICANA STUDIES DEPARTMENT NEWSLETTER
ABORISADE AT 80
cont. from pages 3

the Acting Provost of the College of Administra-
tion, Law and Social Sciences. In addition, Profes-
sor Aborisade served on various national commis-
sions in Nigeria, including: National University
Commission on Academic Minimum Standard;
Federal Government Commission on the Creation
of Additional Local Governments; Member of the
Governing Board of the Administrative Staff Col-
lege of Nigeria; and on the Public Administration
Graduate Curriculum committee for the Interna-
tional Institute of Administration.

In 1993, he capped his academic journey with the
Inaugural Lecture at Obafemi Awolowo Univer- Early Years at UNC Charlotte: Professor Aborisade flanked
by Professor Wande Abimbola (former President of Obafemi
sity titled “That All Politics is Local” (Inaugural
Awolowo University) and the Late Professor Bob Mundt
lectures are important academic milestones reserved for
(Political Scientist & former Dean of the Graduate School)
leading scholars in Nigerian universities). He retired from
the university in 1999 and relocated to the University of ber 22 to participate in a symposium titled “All Politics is Lo-
North Carolina at Charlotte as Visiting Professor in the De- cal”: Perspectives on Community Engagement and Citizen Empower-
partments of Political Science and Africana Studies. Com- ment in Africa and the African Diaspora - A Symposium in Honor of
menting on Professor Aborisade’s impact on the Africana Professor Oladimeji Aborisade at 80. Building upon the scholarly
Studies curriculum over the past sixteen years, department work of Professor Aborisade in local government studies,
chair, Dr. Akin Ogundiran, noted that: "In view of the range the symposium will address issues of community and citizen
of courses Dr Aborisade has taught (more than fourteen dif- empowerment in the contemporary Africana world; the
ferent courses!) since joining UNC Charlotte, from politics challenges and efficacy of local action for social change in
and international affairs, to culture, history, sociology of pluralistic and increasingly globalized societies; the politics
family, literature, language, methods and theory, etc., no of citizen participation; the role of the New Media in com-
one has had as much impact on the delivery of Africana Stud- munity organizing; the intersections of the local and global
ies curriculum in this university as Dr. Aborisade... His en- in community, regional, national, and international develop-
cyclopedic knowledge of Africa is eminent as he combines ment; the roles of religion, race, class, gender, sexuality,
experience with erudition." profession, labor, and political ideology in community orga-
nizing; and the ideo-
In recognition of his pioneering academic accomplishments, logical and philosophi-
institution building, outstanding service to the advancement cal premises shaping
of grassroots development, and his many roles as a commu- contemporary commu-
nity and national leader, the King of Ibadan honored him nity action projects. In
with the chieftaincy title of “Balogun Onigege fact, how do all these
Wura” (Commander of The Golden Pen) in 1996. affect the meanings,
principles, and proc-
In celebration of his 80th birthday early this fall semester, his esses of community
former students and colleagues presented him with a fest- empowerment in the
schrift on August 28 at a public event held in Ibadan and twenty-first century?
attended by many academic luminaries, political leaders,
socialites, and family members. The book, Local Government The symposium will be
in Nigeria: Essays for Professor Oladimeji Aborisade, is edited by held in Room 340I of the
his mentee Dr. Isiaka Aransi, chair of the Department of Student Union Building at
Local Government Studies at Obafemi Awolowo University. UNC Charlotte main cam-
pus starting at 9:00am.
A group of scholars will gather at UNC Charlotte on Octo-
PAGE 5 AFRICANA STUDIES DEPARTMENT NEWSLETTER, 2012
NEW BOOKS IN AFRICANA STUDIES, 2011-12
Tanure Ojaide, Drawing the Map of Heaven: An African Writer in America (Lagos:
Malthouse Press, 2012). A memoir of the writer’s journey in the U.S. as an Urhobo, a Nigerian,
an African, and Black; the story of an outsider looking in, and of the insider looking out. From
Syracuse to Los Angeles, Walla Walla to Charlotte, this book is an anthropology of self, the oth-
ers, the academy, race, and identity.

Tanure Ojaide, Stars of the Long Night (Lagos: Malthouse Press, 2012): A novel set in the
Niger Delta (Nigeria), this is a mythical tale, emblematic of women’s successful struggle for
equality in a traditional patriarchal society. Against the setting of the once-in-a-generation festival
at which the one chosen by the gods performs the dance of “the mother mask,” Ojaide weaves a
tale of immense suspense with anthropological details. In his rhythmic poetic-prose, the novelist
simultaneously unpacks and complicates the basic principles on which the universe is founded –
(re)creation, binaries, and difference.

Tanure Ojaide, The Old Man in a State House & Other Stories (NY: African Heritage
Press, 2012). A literary canvas which captures, in short stories, the restless matrix that is today's
Africa: the corruptive influence of a corrosive oil economy, environmental degradation, wealth
and hubris, and more.

Tanure Ojaide, Contemporary African Literature: New Approaches (Carolina Academic
Press, 2012) goes beyond conventional literary studies to open new vistas for critical excursion.
The book deals not only with purely literary issues of canonization, language, aesthetics, and
scholar poet traditions, but also with diverse interdisciplinary topics such as migration, globaliza-
tion, environmental and human rights, and gender. It widens the scope of the African experience
in literature as never before.

Akin Ogundiran, Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspec-
tives (Cambridge University Press, 2012; co-edited with J. Cameron Monroe, UC Santa Cruz).
This volume examines how involvement in the commercial revolutions of the early modern pe-
riod dramatically reshaped the regional contours of political organization across West Africa, and
how these connected to new regional economic networks, population shifts, cultural values and
ideologies. The book demonstrates the importance of anthropological insights not only to the
broad political history of West Africa, but also to an understanding of political culture as a form
of meaningful social practice.

Akin Ogundiran, (Co-Guest Editor, with Liza Gijanto), Special Issue of Azania: Journal
of Archaeological Research, 46, 3 - Ceramics in the African Atlantic: New Perspec-
tives. The research papers in this issue
offer new theoretical, conceptual, and
interpretive frameworks on the impor-
tance of the stylistic and technological
attributes of domestic ceramics for under-
standing the processes of regional interac-
tion, economic organization, power rela-
tions, political formations, and social re-
production of communities and polities in
Atlantic West Africa, especially covering
the modern-day Benin Republic, The
Gambia, Nigeria, and Senegal.
PAGE 6 AFRICANA STUDIES DEPARTMENT NEWSLETTER, 2012
OJAIDE WON THE CADBURY PRIZE FOR POETRY
Professor Tanure Ojaide’s book The Beauty I Have Seen Fifteen books of poetry
(Malthouse Press, 2010) is the recipient of the Association of were nominated for the
Nigerian Authors’ 2011 Cadbury Prize for Poetry. According to award. The ANA/
the jurors’ citation: Cadbury Prize consoli-
dates Tanure Ojaide’s
The poet (Ojaide) persona in this text is the minstrel
position as a preemi-
that employs distinct peculiar styles to dwell on themes
nent poet of Africa
of love, travels to different parts of the world, corrup-
with transcontinental
tion, and so on. The text engages in inter-textuality,
range. In previous
histology and invocation of nature. Severally, there are
years, he won other
indications of using “Mammy Wata” as his muse. The
coveted prizes for his
extensive range, experimentation and maturity of voice
poetry, including the
in this collection enhance the density and rich texture of
Africa Regional Win-
the text giving it a wholesome aperture.This marvelous
ner, Commonwealth
collection of poems coherently presents the poetic ex-
Poetry Prize (1987);
perience as a movement in three interconnected con-
Winner, All-Africa
figurations – the poet as a public commentator, as one
Christopher Okigbo
who observes and sees what others do not see (or what
Prize for Poetry (1988,
they see but do not assign significance) and one united
1997); and Overall
with and standing in symbolic relation with the land or
Winner, the British
culture. The three parts of the collection – “The Beauty I
Broadcasting Corporation Arts and Africa Poetry Award
Have Seen”, “Doors of the Forest,” and “Flow & Other
(1988).
Poems” -- feature poems that are laced with powerful
imagery and descriptions of the natural phenomena, The Beauty I Have Seen will be the focus of his presentation
human action, and cultural politics. That “beauty” the at the Personally Speaking Published Scholars Series on March
poet has “seen” is what this collection tries to celebrate, 26, 2013 at the Atkins Library (UNC Charlotte). The series is
comment on and define. jointly presented by the College of Liberal Arts & Sciences and
the J. Murrey Atkins Library.
OTHER AFRS CORE AND AFFILIATED FACULTY PUBLICATIONS

Karen Flint (History)
• “The Impact of Globalization on Health, Food Security, and Biomedicine in Africa” (with Bridget Teboh). In Globalization and the Afri-
can Experience, eds., Emmanuel M. Mbah and Steven J. Salm (Carolina Academic Press, 2012)
• “Reinventing ‘Traditional’ Medicine in Postapartheid South Africa.” In Indigenous Knowledge and the Environment in Africa and North
America, eds., David M. Gordon and Shepard Krech III (Ohio University Press, 2012)

Akin Ogundiran (Africana Studies)
• “Potters Marks and Social Relations of Ceramic Distribution in the Oyo Empire” (with Paula V. Saunders), Azania: Journal of
Archaeological Research, 46, 3 (2011), pp. 317-335 .
• “The Formation of an Oyo imperial Colony during the Atlantic Age,” In Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa, Cameron Mon-
roe and Akinwumi Ogundiran, eds. (Cambridge University Press, 2012), pp. 222-252.
• Blacks on Stamp: Africana Postage Stamps Worldwide. Charlotte Papers in Africana Studies No. 3 (24 pages). February 2012 (with
Shontea L. Smith). Exhibition Catalog.
• Ancestral Legacies in Osun Grove: Archaeological Exhibition of Early Osogbo History (20 pages). Charlotte Papers in Africana Studies
No. 4 August 2011. Exhibition Catalog.

Beth Elise Whitaker (Political Science and Public Administration)
• “The Politics of Home: Dual Citizenship and the African Diaspora”. International Migration Review 45, 4 (2011): 755-783.
PAGE 7 AFRICANA STUDIES DEPARTMENT NEWSLETTER, 2012
NEW BOOKS BY AFRS-AFFILIATED FACULTY, 2011-12
Dr. Greg Wiggan (Assistant Professor of Urban Edu- considerations that are aimed at increasing social justice in
cation) ed., Power, Privilege and Education: Pedagogy, education and improving student performance.
Curriculum and Student Outcomes (New York: Nova Pub-
lisher 2012).
In schools and society, power and privilege makes inequalities Dr. Richard Leeman (Professor of Communication
appear natural because of the prevailing ideology suggesting Studies), The Teleological Discourse of Barack Obama
that the social and economic systems are meritocratic, and (NY: Lexington Books, 2012), “provides an in-depth analysis of
that the poor and needy are in their particular circumstance President Barack Obama’s speeches and writings to explain the
because they are lazy or because they lack moral fortitude or power of the 44th president's speaking. This book argues that,
intellectual capacity. People’s experiences with marginaliza- from his earliest writings through his latest presidential
tion and discrimination form a continuum, where to be poor speeches, Obama has described the world through a teleological
and non-white often has the greatest social consequences. This lens. Understanding his discourse as teleological (ideal path
book systematically investigates and uncovers the taken-for- towards progress and improvement) helps explain the inspira-
granted aspects of power and privilege in education, and pro- tional and philosophical nature of his rhetoric, as well as his
vides teachers and researchers with critical analyses and prac- famous patience, perceiving progress where others become
tical solutions for improving the education of poor and minor- frustrated…In order to discover the roots of Obama's teleologi-
ity students. It addresses the issues of students’ home culture cal perspective, Leeman also examines the speeches of presi-
and the culture of schools, and explores the hegemonic as- dents Franklin Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Ronald
pects of school curricula and pedagogy that universalizes Reagan, as well as the civil rights discourse of Martin Luther
dominant group interests at the expense of minority students’ King, Jr., Frederick Douglass, and W. E. B. Du Bois. Although
learning. The book synthesizes the literature on culturally the roots of his teleological discourse run deep, President
responsive curriculum and pedagogy to explain how schools Obama's particular use of the philosophy is very modern. The
can become more inclusive, and how they can better serve Teleological Discourse of Barack Obama is an essential contribution
disadvantaged students. It offers recommendations and policy to the study of American politics and political rhetoric.”
NEW AFRICANA STUDIES FACULTY: AFRO-BRAZILIANIST AND HISTORIAN
Dr. Oscar de la Torre He is currently writing a book manuscript that analyzes how the
joined the Department of unique social and environmental conditions of Amazonia fa-
Africana Studies at UNC- vored the Afro-descendant search for autonomy during the late
Charlotte as assistant profes- nineteenth and the early twentieth century. Under slavery, the
sor in the fall 2012. He is immensity of this frontier region enhanced the slaves’ prospects
originally from Barcelona, to negotiate better working conditions, and to create astonish-
Spain. After obtaining his ingly resilient communities of runaways known as maroons or
BA from the University of quilombos. However, contrary to what current scholarship ar-
Barcelona in 2005, he gues, social relations in the borderlands were not always fluid,
moved to the US in order to pursue postgraduate studies at flexible, and mutually beneficial. Dr. de la Torre argues that
the University of Pittsburgh, PA. After finishing his PhD in when Brazil nut merchants devised strategies of labor coercion
August 2011 he taught for one year at the University of Cen- in the early twentieth century (1920s-1930s), black peasants
tral Oklahoma. saw their autonomy to work and migrate greatly reduced, and
their prospects to carve a better life severely constrained. He
More broadly, Dr. De la Torre is interested in Atlantic His- expects this book to significantly contribute to the study of the
tory, comparative race relations, slavery and marronage, and history of black rural communities. These communities have
Latin American history (Brazil, Andes). At UNC Charlotte, recently become the target of important public policies in Bra-
he will teach the history of Afro-Latin America, Brazil, and zil.
comparative African Diaspora. Dr. De la Torre is also an
If he were not a historian, he’d like to work as a scriptwriter or
affiliate faculty in the Latin American Studies program.
as a logo creative designer.
PAGE 8 AFRICANA STUDIES DEPARTMENT NEWSLETTER, 2012
NEW APPOINTMENTS AND NEW AFRS FACULTY AFFILIATES
Meredith R. Evans Raiford, Ph.D. assumed her new position as the Associate University
Librarian for Special Collections at UNC-Charlotte this fall semester. She has over 15 years of
experience as a manager in both academic and commercial settings, and brings extensive ex-
pertise in developing and processing collections, and applying archival and library technologies
for scholarly endeavors. She received her doctoral degree from the School of Information and
Library Science at UNC Chapel Hill.

At the J. Murrey Atkins Library, Dr. Raiford is responsible for leading three units: the Special
Collections Department (SPEC), the Digital Programs and Collections unit (DPaC), and the
Digital Scholarship Lab (DSL). Her division collects, creates, curates, and disseminates digital,
unique, and rare materials for scholarship. These include manuscripts and historic maps, year-
books and oral histories, as well as tools and equipment that support faculty and graduate stu-
dents in the production of digital scholarship. Dr. Raiford is an advocate for preserving historic
records in any format. She enjoys working closely with community partners and researchers to
ensure that the documentation of people, places and ideas remain available in any medium for future generations.

Before joining UNC Charlotte, she worked as Curator of Printed Materials at the Robert W. Woodruff Library in the Atlanta
University Center where she participated on an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant project to process and digitize the papers
and books of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in collaboration with Boston University’s Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center. As
the Director of the Special Collections Research Center at George Washington University, she built a nationally prominent pro-
gram by successfully obtaining important collections supported by financial gifts and grants. Some of the collections are the offi-
cial records of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, the National Education Association, and the Middle East Institute
Rare Book Collection. In addition to her work as a professional librarian and archivist, Meredith has taught for a variety of Library
and Information Science programs at institutions such as North Carolina Central University, Clark Atlanta University, San Jose
University and Wayne State University.
Ms. Kendra Jason is a new lecturer and academic advisor in the Department of Sociology. She
teaches Introduction to Sociology and a course on race and ethnicity in the United States.

Ms. Jason received her Bachelor of Science from her hometown college, Augusta State University,
in 2002. Her Master of Science was earned at North Carolina State University in 2005 with the
thesis, “Organizational Inequality in Job Promotions”. Currently, she is ABD and working on a
qualitative dissertation project which examines supervisors’ influences on low-wage workers’
mobility prospects in the healthcare sector.

She has taught at North Carolina State, North Carolina Central, Wake Technical Community Col-
lege, and the University of Phoenix. Most recently, Kendra worked at the UNC Chapel Hill’s
Institute on Aging, where her research focused on workforce development for low-wage workers.
Other areas of Kendra’s research interest include critical pedagogy, minority group mentorship in
academic institutions, and the scholarship of teaching and learning. She has publications in the
Journal of Applied Gerontology, Healthcare Management Review, and Teaching Sociology. Kendra has
been awarded the North Carolina State University’s Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award and a teaching fellowship using an
inquiry-guided learning approach. She serves on regional and national professional committees, most recently as Chair of the La-
bor Studies Division in the Society for the Study of Social Problems.
PAGE 9 AFRICANA STUDIES DEPARTMENT NEWSLETTER, 2012
DR. BLENMAN JOINS THE RANK OF THE AFRICANA STUDIES AFFILIATE FACULTY
Dr. Lloyd Blenman, Professor of Finance in the Belk College Editor, of Journal of
of Business is now an affiliate faculty in the Africana Studies Multinational Financial
Department. He holds a PhD from Ohio State University. Management, Financial
Prior to his academic career, he was a manager at a commer- Review, International
cial bank’s International Division. Dr. Blenman’s research Journal of Finance, Quar-
covers International Finance, Joint Ventures, Financial Mar- terly Journal of Finance
kets, Corporate Finance, Asset Pricing and Investments. He is and Accounting, Interna-
co‐author of “Banking and Capital Markets: New International tional Review of Financial
Perspectives”. Analysis and other jour-
nals. He is Past‐
His work has been published in Journal of Money, Credit and President of Midwest
Banking, Journal of Economics Dynamics and Control, Financial Finance Association
Management, Review of Derivatives Research, Finance Research Let- and President of Mid-
ters, Journal of Financial Research, Journal of Futures Markets, In- west Finance Education
ternational Review of Economics and Finance, Quarterly Review of Foundation. Dr. Blen-
Economics and Finance, Financial Review, Global Finance Journal, man regularly makes
Economia Internazionale, International Journal of Finance, Journal presentations across the
of Multinational Financial Management, International Review of USA and internationally
Financial Analysis and several other international journals. to businesses, universi-
ties and academic con-
Dr. Blenman has won professional awards for his work in ferences.
International Finance and Asset Pricing. He has taught for
several years at the MBA and PhD levels. He is a member of Professor Blenman played very important roles in the planning
the American Finance Association, American Economic Asso- and execution of the Charlotte Africa Business Week (see page
ciation, and Midwest Finance Association. He is Co‐Editor of 21-22). His expertise and leadership in the field of finance is an
African Finance Journal and has been Associate Editor/Guest asset to the department’s short– and long-term vision.
Faculty at the May 2012 Commencement: Akin Ogundiran, Tanure Ojaide, Debra Smith, and Felix Germain
PAGE 10 AFRICANA STUDIES DEPARTMENT NEWSLETTER, 2012
FACULTY RESEARCH NOTE
GRANDPARENTS RAISING GRANDCHILDREN IN NORTH CAROLINA: NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND
INTERVENTION - Dr. Dorothy Smith-Ruiz
Over the last four decades, there has of systematic study on these two topics American grand-
been a significant increase in grandpar- in Charlotte or North Carolina. My parents, who rep-
ents raising grandchildren. The over- study is designed to have an impact on resent the fast-
whelming majority of grandparent care- social service delivery and program growing segment
givers are women. The increase in development. Our ultimate goal is to of the custodial
grandparent caregiving cuts across all develop best practice models for service grandparent care-
racial and ethnic groups, but the great- delivery in Charlotte-Mecklenburg giver population.
est rate of increase is among the African among the caregiving grandparent Second, we are
American and Hispanic families. population. engaged in meth-
odological collaboration with the Uni-
According to the American Association Since this is a needs assessment and in- versity of North Texas and the North
of Retired Persons (AARP), approxi- tervention study, we have designed the Central Texas Area Agency on Aging
mately 80,126 children in North Caro- project to examine the extent to which (NCT-AAA) where a study is being
lina are living in grandparent headed- grandparents’ needs are being met in a conducted exclusively on white grand-
household without either parent pre- number of areas (nutrition, transporta- parents. We are using identical research
sent. About 79,810 grandparents report tion, financial, legal, parenting advice, instruments for the purpose of compar-
caring for their grandchildren in the etc.). Additionally, we would like to ing the extent and quality of service
state, and about 5,175 grandparents know in what form would grandpar- delivery.
caregivers live in Charlotte Mecklen- ents’ prefer to receive help and infor-
burg. Based on incidence statistics, 47% mation about raising their grandchildren This study is conducted in collaboration
of caregiving grandparents are African (newsletter, telephone, email, work- with Dr. Bert Hayslip, University of
American, 47% are White, 43% live in shops, etc.); what kind of information North Texas (North Central Texas Area
households without either parent pre- do grandparents have difficulty getting Agency on Aging (NCT-AAA), Denton,
sent, and 71 % are under the age of 60. (their physical health, grandchild’s Texas; Park and Recreation Depart-
health, social services, access to mental ment (Therapeutic Recreation Section),
Numerous studies have shown the cor- health services, etc.); what factors hin- Charlotte, North Carolina; Mecklen-
relations between grandparent caregiv- der grandparents from getting the help burg County Department of Social Ser-
ing and other social indicators such as they need, among many other concerns. vices (Community Resource Division),
poverty level, education, and health Charlotte, North Carolina; Bellefonte
outcomes. However, fewer studies have Although it is useful for the study to be Presbyterian Church, Harrisburg,
studied the unmet needs of both grand- representative of all racial and ethnic North Carolina. The research is sup-
parents and grandchildren. This is the grandparents in Charlotte-Mecklenburg ported by the Department of Africana
subject of my ongoing research with and North Carolina, this phase of the Studies, College of Liberal Arts and
emphasis on the Piedmont region. My study is restricted by two critical fac- Sciences, the University of North Caro-
study will also examine the positive tors. First, because of limited funding, lina at Charlotte. For more information
aspects of caregiving. There is a dearth the study has been restricted to African please contact [email protected].
PEDAGOGICAL TIT-BITS: Poll Everywhere reinforce course materials. If a student has a laptop, they can
- Dr. Debra Smith also participate in the poll. It’s convenient because most stu-
Colleagues, if you have a small class (20 and under) and want dents have a cell phone. It’s free if you have 20 or less stu-
a quick and innovative way to survey your students during dents. And, it is cost effective because students do not have to
class – and allow them to use their favored cell phones, try purchase any other gadget (such as clickers) in order to help
POLL EVERYWHERE. Poll Everywhere is a free service. you assess student understanding of your course materials.
You set up a poll yourself and they answer questions by tex-
ting numbers on their cell phones. I used it this summer and It’s very easy. Just go to www.polleverywhere.com or set
the students loved it! They used their cell phones during class up a time with me ([email protected]) to learn this new
for texting, and I received the feedback I needed to be able to procedure.