Research and Grant Activity

My research sits at the intersection of African and Africana studies, engaging deeply with questions of voices, power, resistance, identity, and historical memory across the colonial and postcolonial eras. I am particularly drawn to work that centers lived experience, reclaims silenced voices, and challenges dominant narratives through alternative methodologies.

Core Areas of Focus

At the heart of my scholarly work is a deep commitment to recovering and amplifying the lived experiences, voices, and intellectual traditions of African and diasporic communities, both past and present. My research spans the colonial and postcolonial periods and revolves around four overlapping themes:

• Social and political history in Africa and the African diaspora

• Feminisms, gender, women, and sexualities in Africa

• Social movements and resistance in African contexts

• Oral histories, archives-from-below, and decolonial research methods

I approach these subjects through a “history from below” lens, foregrounding the agency of ordinary African people and challenging dominant historical narratives that have long obscured their voices. Whether analyzing the political power of petitions, women’s embodied protests, or indigenous knowledge systems, my work privileges oral testimonies, undervalued archival materials, and African-authored texts, illuminating how Africans have historically theorized, resisted, and reimagined power.

My scholarship is proudly interdisciplinary, drawing from fields such as history, geography, gender studies, sociology, ethnography, literature, and the arts. I collaborate with fellow scholars and community historians to place African stories in conversation with broader global narratives thereby bridging the continent and its diaspora. In doing so, I intentionally venture beyond the familiar, ensuring my research not only contributes to African history and Black Studies but also resonates across academic disciplines.

My scholarship has also been recognized and supported through a range of prestigious fellowships and project-based awards, including those from the North American Conference on British Studies, the Hagley Library, and the Charlton Center for Oral History. These opportunities have fueled both solo and collaborative endeavors committed to equity, inclusion, and interdisciplinary innovation.

Since 2010, I have presented my work at over hundred professional conferences and workshops, contributing to global conversations on decolonization, memory, and African agency. I remain passionate about connecting research to public and community-engaged scholarship.

Current & Emerging Projects

• Africa, My Africa: A Visual History for Kids (2026)

• Inheritance of the Spoken: Africa’s Voices Reclaimed (Poetic Collection, 2026)

• Black Voices and the African Diasporic Experience: African Immigrants in Oregon Oral History Project (2027)

Interested in collaborating?

I welcome invitations for fellowships, research partnerships, public history initiatives, and grant-based projects, especially those that amplify African and diasporic narratives through creative, community-centered approaches. Whether you're seeking a co-investigator for a grant, a public history partner, or a research fellow for an interdisciplinary initiative, I welcome new ideas and creative partnerships.