2020 Outstanding Book Award

About year ago, my book, In Pursuit of Knowledge: Black Women and Educational Activism in Antebellum America, was published by New York University Press in the Early American Places series. There are many reasons why New York University Press turned out to be the perfect fit for me and my book, but foremost is that the Press works closely with first-time authors, and I benefitted greatly from that.

I had no expectations of awards or honors when I wrote this book; I was just content to have shared remarkable stories about African American girls and women as educational activists in the nineteenth-century Northeast.

I'm honored and humbled to share that my book has won a second book prize – the 2020 Outstanding Book Award from the History of Education Society. This award means so much to me since my book is closely aligned with the history of education in the United States. Truth be told, that is the scholarly literature with which I was in conversation (in addition to the scholarship on the United States during the early republic; women's and gender history; and of course African American history).

To my knowledge, I'm the first African American woman scholar to win this book award.

There are so many scholars, colleagues, and former (and current) students whom I have and will continue to thank for supporting me, my book, and the history of African American girls and women!

If you haven't had a chance to purchase the book and are interested, you can visit Bookshop. If you'd like a signed copy, I'd be happy to arrange that. Just contact me.