Background:

Melanie R. Holmes is an Assistant Professor of African American Studies at the University of South Carolina. She received her PhD in history with a specialization in the African Diaspora, and a certificate in Women’s Studies, at Howard University in 2023. Her research prioritizes the diverse regions, individual causes, and various strategies of Black Power movements. Currently, she is completing her manuscript on the Black Power Movement in Barbados. Her article “Black Power and the Slave Trade: How the Memory of Slavery Disrupted White Supremacy” was published by the Madison Historical Review. Her work on Black Power in Britain will be included in an anthology on Black resistance in the year 1968 published by Routledge.

Melanie was previously a lecturer at Howard University where she taught courses in the African Diaspora, United States History, Women’s Studies, and Caribbean Studies. Prior to entering academia, she earned her master’s degree in education from the University of Pennsylvania. She worked in District of Columbia Public Schools for ten years where she served as a Social Studies instructional coach, department chair, and taught multiple secondary history courses. Melanie also led professional development on culturally responsive teaching, designed curriculum for secondary grades, and led a team of educators to rewrite secondary Social Studies curricular standards for Washington, DC public schools through an antiracist lens.

Having earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in print journalism from Howard University, Melanie began her career as a writer for The Philadelphia Tribune and the Afro-American Newspaper in Baltimore. Her focus as a reporter was to provide a voice for underserved individuals and communities.