Martin Luther Boston, assistant professor of ethnic studies at California State University, Sacramento, passed away unexpectedly on August 14, according to a report from ABC10. He was 41 years old.
Dr. Boston earned his bachelor’s degree in comparative ethnic studies and his master’s degree in American studies from Washington State University. He later received a second master’s degree and a Ph.D. in ethnic studies from the University of California, San Diego, where he had a stint as a lecturer. Upon completing his graduate studies, he served as a postdoctoral fellow at DePaul University in Chicago.
At Sacramento State, Dr. Boston served as director of Pan-African studies, director of the Black Serving Institute Initiative, and a board member for the Center for African Peace and Conflict Resolution. In addition to his faculty position, he was editor-in chief of African and Black Diaspora: An International Journal.
Dr. Boston’s research and teaching interests centered on race and ethnicity, Black studies, social movements, cultural studies, popular culture, decolonial studies, and South African and American comparative and transnational histories. At the time of his passing, he was completing a book manuscript titled Be(Long)ing: South African Cultural Producers and the Development of a Pan-African Exilic Consciousness During an Era of Exile.
“Dr. Boston’s light, strength, and purpose will be with us as we begin the semester,” reads a social media post from the university’s department of ethnic studies. “His energy and legacy live on in our classrooms, in ethnic studies, and in the communities he uplifted.”
