The UI Department of African American Studies is pleased to announce the Darwin Turner Endowment.

Within the past month, Professor Deborah Whaley has had her work mentioned in the New York Times and been nominated for a poetry award, as well as given an interview on local television and a keynote address.

Associate Professor of Jazz and African-American Studies Damani Phillips has published his first book, What Is This Thing Called Soul: Conversations on Black Culture and Jazz Education. This work breaks new intellectual ground in openly exploring how academic jazz education impacts the Black cultural value of soulfulness and esthetic standards in contemporary jazz music.