Dr. Allison also serves as coordinator for the Africana Studies Program, and she teaches numerous Africana Studies courses, which include Introduction to Africana Studies, African American Movies, Introduction to Hip Hop Culture, a Seminar on Representations of Race in Media, and a learning abroad course to Senegal, West Africa. In addition to Africana Studies, Dr. Allison also teaches for the Communication Studies program. These courses include: Film Theory and Criticism, Communication Research Methods, Senior Seminar in Communication Studies, Mass Communication Theories, Television and Popular Culture, News and Politics, African Americans on Television, and Women, Minorities, and the Media.

 

 

EDUCATION

Ph.D., Howard University

 

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Media Images of African Americans, Hip Hop Culture and Identity

 

COURSES

GAH 2184 Introduction to Hip Hop Culture
GSS 2201 African American Studies: An Introductory Perspective
GSS 3295 African American Movies
COMM 1201 Introduction to Communication
COMM 2409 Television and Popular Culture
COMM 2414 African Americans on Television
COMM 3200 Theories of Mass Communication
COMM 3203 Communication Research Methods
COMM 3306 Women, Minorities, and the Media
COMM 3400 Film Theory and Criticism
COMM 4601 Communication Seminar (Topics: Crime and Media, Political Communication)

 

PUBLICATIONS

Allison, D. (2017). "The Perpetuation of Racial Stereotypes in American Media". In P. Reid-Merritt (Ed.), Race in America: How a Pseudo-Scientific Concept Shaped Human Interaction, Praeger.

Allison, D. (Ed.). (Jan. 2016). Black Women's Portrayals on Reality Television: The New Sapphire. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

“Hip Hop, Identity, and African American Teens.” International Journal of the Humanities 9.6 (2012): 255-262.

“The Academy in Color.” The International Journal of Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations 8.4. 101-108.

“Free to Be Me? Black Professors, White Institutions.” Journal of Black Studies 38.4 (2008): 641-662.

Co-authored with Donyale Griffin. “Making a Case for Restorative Rhetoric: Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Mayor Ray Nagin’s Response to Disaster.” Communication Monographs 77.3 (2010): 376-392.

“Accommodation,” “Acculturation,” and “Adaptation.” Encyclopedia of Identity. Ed. Ronald L. Jackson. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE, 2010.

“I wonder if they would say that in HIS classroom.” Teaching Race, Diversity and Social Justice in White Space: Challenges, Implications and Effective Strategies. Ed. Darrell Cleveland. Forthcoming.

 

PROFESSIONAL AFFILATIONS

National Council for Black Studies
The National Communication Association

 

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Patricia Reid-Merritt – author, educator, scholar, community activist and performing artist - is the Distinguished Professor of Africana Studies and Social Work.  Dr. Reid-Merritt received the Doctorate of Social Work in Race, Law and Social Policy (University of Pennsylvania); the Master of Social Work (Temple University); and, the Bachelor of Arts in psychology and social science (Cabrini College).  She served as Coordinator of the Africana Studies Program (2003 - 2016), spearheaded the University’s annual Fannie Lou Hamer Human and Civil Rights Symposiums ((2004 - 2015), and chaired the National Fannie Lou Hamer Statue Committee (2012).

Dr.  Reid-Merritt is also the Founder and Artistic/Executive Director of Afro-One Dance, Drama and Drum Theatre, Inc., a community-based cultural and performing arts organization currently celebrating its 46th year of operation.  Afro-One has been described as "the cultural magnet" for African American youth, families and the community in southern New Jersey

Dr. Reid-Merritt is the author of numerous publications, including: the national Blackboard best-seller, Sister Power: How Phenomenal Black Women Are Rising to the Top; Sister Wisdom: Seven Pathways to a Satisfying Life for Soulful Black Women; Righteous Self-Determination: The Black Social Work Movement in America; Race in America: How a Pseudo-Scientific Concept Shaped Human Interaction; Tarnished Legacy: A Reluctant Memoir; and, A State by State History of Race and Racism in the United States.    

A resident of Hamilton, NJ, Dr. Reid-Merritt is a well-known scholar and lecturer.  She has presented scholarly papers and keynote addresses at numerous national and international conferences, including Kenya, Brazil, Egypt, France, South Africa, England and Venezuela.  She spent four weeks at the University of Ghana as a Ford Fellow with the National Council for Black Studies.   She was the founding President of the Association of Black Women in Higher Education, Philadelphia Chapter, having served previously on the National Board of Directors.  Dr. Reid-Merritt served as the founding President of the Burlington County Black Business and Professional Association, and as founding president of the National Association of Black Social Workers, South Jersey Chapter.  From 1993 - 2011, she served on the Board of Directors for the National Council for Black Studies.  Additionally, she is a consultant on arts and culture to communities throughout the State of New Jersey.  

Dr. Reid-Merritt is the recipient of numerous honors/awards including: Cabrini College Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award; Temple University, Alumni Society Certificate of Honor; NAACP Freedom Award; Stockton University’s Council of Black Faculty and Staff Annual Achievement Award and Lifetime Achievement Award; National Council for Black Studies’ Presidential Award, and Mary McLeod Bethune and Carter G. Woodson Award for the most significant contribution to the promotion of Africana Studies.  She has been honored by the NJ State Council of Black Social Workers as Social Worker of the Year, the NJ State Legislature, and named by City News as one of New Jerseys' 100 Most Influential Citizens.  She is listed in Who’s Who in America, Who's Who among Black Americans and 2000 Notable American Women.  

 

EDUCATION

Dr. Reid-Merritt received the D.S.W. in Race, Law and Social Policy (University of Pennsylvania)

 

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Africana Studies – history, art, culture, social organizations and leadership development

 

COURSES

African American Dance, Introduction to Africana Studies, African American Movies, African American Female Writers, Race, Ethnicity and Diversity, Senior Seminar: The African Americans, Senior Seminar: Social Work, Social Justice, African Americans and the Law, Jazz and Blues Dance, Contemporary African American Dance, Black Comedy.

 

PUBLICATIONS

• A State by State History of Race and Racism in the United States, (editor), Santa Barbara Praeger,/ABC- CLIO, Publications, 2018.
• Race in America: How a Pseudo-Scientific Concept Shaped Human Interaction, (editor), Praeger,/ABC-CLIO, Publications, Santa Barbara, 2017.
• Tarnished Legacy: A Reluctant Memoir, www.outskirtspress, Outskirts Press, 2017.
• Righteous Self-Determination: The Black Social Work Movement in America, Baltimore: Black Classic Press, 2010.
• Sister Wisdom: Seven Pathways to a Satisfying Life for Soulful Black Women, New York: John Wiley & Sons Publishing Co., 2002.
• Sister Power: How Phenomenal Black Women Are Rising To The Top. John Wiley & Sons Publishing Co., New York, 1996.

   Articles/Book Chapters

• “Temple University African American Studies Ph.D. Program at 30: Assessing the Asante Affect,” Africology: The Journal of Pan African Studies,12. no.6, November 2018.
• “Malcolm X:  What Measure of a Man?   Assessing Personal Growth and Social Transformation from An African-Centered Social Work Perspective,” in  A Lie of Reinvention, Jared A. Ball and Todd Steven Burroughs, editors, Baltimore: Black Classic Press, 2012.
• “Defining Ourselves: Name Calling in Black Studies,” One Name, One Discipline, Journal of Black Studies, Patricia Reid-Merritt, Guest Editor, Sage Publications, Fall, 2009.
• “The Popularization of Afrocentricty Among the People,” in Essays in Honor of an Intellectual Warrior: Molefi Kete Asante, Ama Mazama,(editor), Paris, Menaibuc. (2008).
• “Leadership, Social Responsibility and Economic Fund Development: The Case for Africana Studies,” The Afrocentric Scholar, summer, 2001.
• "Black Female Leadership" in Voices of Vision, Julianne Maleaux, ed., National Council of Negro Women, 1996.
• "On Transforming Images of Nutcrackers and Sugar Plum Fairies into Kinaras, Geles and Brown Sugar Ladies." Sage, spring, 1992.
• "Organizational Life in South Jersey: A Look at Burlington County's Black Community", in Blacks in New Jersey, 1986; Perspectives on South Jersey, Bruce Ransom, Ph.D., editor, New Jersey Public Policy Research Institute, 1986.
• "An Historical Survey of the Black Experience Through Dance," Perspectives, AGLS Press, Summer, 1983.

Archives

• "A Study of African-American Women in Positions of Power in Nontraditional Leadership Roles". Harvard - Radcliffe University, Institutes of Advanced Study, Murray Research Center, Cambridge, MA, 1999.

 

 Encyclopedia Entries

• “Dance Culture” The SAGE Encyclopedia of African Cultural Heritage in North America, Mwalimu Shujaaand Kenya J. Shujaa, editors, Sage Publications, 2015. 
• “The National Black United Fund” The SAGE Encyclopedia of African Cultural Heritage in North America,Mwalimu Shujaa and Kenya J. Shujaa, editors, Sage Publications, 2015.
• “The National Association of Black Social Workers” The SAGE Encyclopedia of African Cultural Heritage in North America,Mwalimu Shujaa and Kenya J. Shujaa, editors, Sage Publications, 2015. 
• “Odunde” The SAGE Encyclopedia of African Cultural Heritage in North America, Mwalimu Shujaaand Kenya J. Shujaa, editors, Sage Publications, 2015. 
• “Afrocentric Approaches to Social Work.” In: James D. Wright (editor-in-chief), International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, 2nd edition, Vol 1. Oxford: Elsevier. pp. 305–309, 2015.
• “Affirmative Action,” Encyclopedia of African American History, Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio Publications, pp. 597-599, 2010.
• “Molefi Asante,” Encyclopedia of African American History, Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio Publications, pp. 618-619, 2010.
• “Fannie Lou Hamer,” Encyclopedia of African American History, Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio Publications, pp. 792-794, 2010.
• “Maulana Karenga,” Encyclopedia of African American History, Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio Publications, pp. 837-838, 2010.
• “National Council for Black Studies,” Encyclopedia of African American History, Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio Publications, pp. 921-922, 2010.
• “Willie Tappan Barrow,” African American National Biography, Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Evelyn Higginbotham  (editors),Harvard University and Oxford University Press, 2008.
• “Affirmative Action.” Encyclopedia of Black Studies, Asante, M. and Ama Mazama,, editors, Sage Publications, 2004.
• “National Black United Fund, Inc.,” Encyclopedia of Black Studies, Asante, M. and Ama Mazama,, editors, Sage Publications, 2004.
• “National Black United Front, Inc.,” Encyclopedia of Black Studies, Asante, M., et.al., editors, Sage Publications, 2004.

 

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

National Council for Black Studies
DIOP International
Senior Fellow, MKA Institute for Afrocentric Studies
National Association of Black Social Workers
International Association of Blacks in Dance (founding member)

BIOGRAPHY

Dr. Ajani originally hails from a small Ayisyen (Haitian) community in Spring Valley, New York and is 1^st generation of Ayisyen descent living in the United States. Dr. Ajani graduated from SUNY Oswego in the Spring of 2014 with a B.A. in History and a minor in African American studies. He would go on to receive an M.A.  in Africana studies at the University at Albany (SUNY) in 2016 and most recently a Ph.D from the department of Africology & African American studies at Temple University. His dissertation is titled: “An Afrocentric Re-examination of the Historiography around the Afrikan Revolution in Ayiti (Haiti).”

 

EDUCATION

Doctor of Philosophy in Africology & African American Studies, Temple University

 

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

African American History & Culture, Caribbean Culture & Politics, Haitian Revolution (Afrikan Revolution in Ayiti), Afrikan Civilizations, Afrikan religions & spirituality, African world politics and history, Hip Hop culture, African American Sports & Leisure in American society, and History & Significance of Race.

 

COURSES

AFRI 2103: The African World-Contemporary Issues & Social Concerns (Fall 2021)

GAH 1360: Topics in African American History and Culture-Racial Injustice and Historical Inequity (Fall 2021)

 

PUBLICATIONS

St.Hilaire, Wilbert. "Book Review: Ama Mazama: The Ogunic Presence in Africology." Journal of Black Studies 52, no. 5 (June 15, 2021): 547-50. https://doi.org/10.1177/00219347211021090.

St.Hilaire, Wilbert. “Haitian Women Warriors: The Influence of African Martial Art & Military Traditions.” Imhotep Journal, no. 1 (Fall 2019): 22-41.

 

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

DISA (Diopian Institute for Scholarly Advancement)
National Council of Black Studies

 

 

 

 

Course(s): COMM 3306 Race, Gender and Media

Course(s): GAH 1750 African-American Literature and Culture

Course(s): GAH 2360 Civil Rights Movement: 1950s-1980s

Course(s): GAH 1216 African-American Theatre Workshop

 Areas of Expertise: HIV/AIDS in Africa, culturally competent
interventions and organizational management, cultural diversity issues

Areas of Expertise: foundations of education, diversity and social justice, sociology of education, history of education, minority issues in higher education