Keisha N. Blainis an historian of the 20th century United States with broad interdisciplinary interests and specializations in African American History, the modern African Diaspora, and Women’s and Gender Studies. Her research interests include black internationalism, radical politics, and global feminisms. She completed a B.A. in History and Africana Studies from Binghamton University (SUNY) and a Ph.D. in History from Princeton University. She is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of Iowa and the co-editor (with Chad Williams and Kidada Williams) of Charleston Syllabus: Readings on Race, Racism, and Racial Violence (University of Georgia Press, 2016).
Dr. Blain was recently awarded a 2016-2017 Research Leave Fellowship from the American Association of University Women (AAUW). During her fellowship year, she will be a Visiting Research Scholar in the Department of Africana Studies. She is currently completing her first book, Contesting the Global Color Line: Black Women, Nationalist Politics, and Internationalism (forthcoming, University of Pennsylvania Press). The book analyzes an array of primary sources to uncover the crucial role women played in building black nationalist and internationalist protest movements in the United States and other parts of the African Diaspora from the early twentieth century to the 1950s. To learn more about Keisha N. Blain, visit her personal website: www.KeishaBlain.com (Follow her on Twitter @KeishaBlain).