Dr. W. Denae Powell

BIO

Denae is an assistant professor in African American Studies at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. She is the first full time faculty member hired for the African American Program since its inception. Denae serves on the conference committee and student committee for the National Council for Black Studies (NCBS), and is also an NCBS Keto Fellow. Denae’s research areas are Black feminism, racialization and media representations, and Black cultural expression. She has several forthcoming manuscripts, one of which focuses on Black resilience and resistance as depicted in John Singleton’s 1997 Rosewood and a separate article highlighting Mississippi Civil Rights activists collectively known as the Tougaloo Nine. Her most recently accepted manuscript discusses the work of Garveyite women and positions their presence and their work as central to the overall progression of Garveyism through the years, rather than minimizing their contributions, as they are historically discussed. Denae is currently working on her first book and documentary focusing on hair politics and aesthetic representation within the Black community.