The Office of Equity and Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts Amherst recently renamed its Chancellor’s Leadership Awards after the late John H. Bracey Jr., who taught in the university’s W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies for over 50 years.
The newly renamed Professor John H. Bracey Jr. Leadership Awards are presented annually to students, faculty, and staff who foster a more equitable and inclusive campus community. The three award winners each receive a $1,500 prize and a plaque of recognition.
Professor Bracey joined the UMass Amherst faculty in 1972 and helped create one of the nation’s first doctoral programs in African American studies. He served in several roles at the university, including co-director of the graduate certificate in African Diaspora studies. As a scholar, Professor Bracey focused his work on African social and cultural history; radical ideologies and movements; the history of African American women; and the interactions between African Americans and Native Americans, Afro-Latinx, and Jewish Americans.
Professor Bracey passed away in February 2023 at the age of 81 (see JBHE post).
