Faculty in African American Studies have been interviewed, presented awards, published articles, and much more over the past year.

Ashley Howard, Assistant Professor of African American Studies and History, has been given the Communicating Ideas Award. This award recognizes excellence in communication about research and scholarship in the sciences and humanities and the study of creative, visual and performing arts to a general audience directly or via print and electronic media.

Professor Alfred Martin, Jr. was interviewed by Charity Nebbe on Iowa Public Radio's Talk of Iowa podcast to discuss his latest book, The Generic Closet: Black Gayness and the Black-Cast Sitcom.

Assistant Professor of Sociology and African American Studies Victor Ray was interviewed for two articles: one by Nature News on Biden's appointment of Dr. Alondra Nelson to the Office of Science and Technology Policy, and the other by USA Today about the potential impact of Kamala Harris’ vice presidency on corporate policy towards Black women.

Professor Deborah Whaley has been quoted, interviewed, and published in a number of publications recently, along with being featured on panels and as a speaker for recent events. Her co-edited book, Keywords in Comic Studies is forthcoming in June 2021.

Assistant Professor Louis Seamster was quoted in the New York Times' article "Student Loan Cancellation Sets Up Clash Between Biden and the Left" from December 10, 2020. In response to President-elect Joe Biden's endorsement for canceling $10,000 in federal student loan debt per borrower, Professor Seamster talks about the effect the coronavirus pandemic has had on Universities and Colleges.

Victor Ray is the 2020 Distinguished Early Career Award recipient from the American Sociological Association Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities. This award recognizes exceptional achievement and scholarly contribution to research on the sociology of race and ethnicity.

African American Studies faculty members Simon Balto, Assistant Professor of History and African American Studies, and Richard Brent Turner, Professor of Religious Studies and African American Studies, have been named 2020 fellows of the American Council of Learned Societies. ACLS Fellowships are among the most prestigious research honors in the humanities. They offer scholars the opportunity to devote six to twelve continuous months to full-time research and writing for a specific project. The awards are portable and are tenable at the fellow's home institution, abroad, or at another appropriate site for research.

Simon Balto, Assistant Professor of History and African American Studies, has earned a highly competitive and prestigious National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Fellowship to enable him to pursue his research. Professor Balto is among just 99 NEH Fellowship recipients nationwide for the 2020-21 cycle, and one of only two from the state of Iowa.

Whaley, a University of Iowa American studies professor, chose the song for the message of perseverance and realizing one’s dreams, an interpretation she embraces closely. While she is originally from Colorado, Whaley has lived in the Midwest for more than half her life. She described herself as an artist, poet, writer, curator, swimmer, yogi, and UI professor.