Barbara Ransby, the John D. MacArthur Chair and LAS Distinguished Professor of Black Studies, Gender and Women’s Studies, and History at the University of Illinois Chicago, recently received the Roy Rosenzweig Distinguished Service Award from the Organization of American Historians. The honor is presented to an individual whose contributions have significantly enriched our understanding and appreciation of American history.
Through decades of scholarship, mentorship, and public engagement, Dr. Ransby has helped shape the study of African American history, social movements, and Black feminist thought. She focuses her work on the intellectual traditions and organizing strategies that have shaped movements for racial justice and democracy in the United States. At UIC, she directs the Social Justice Initiative, a project that promotes connections between academics and community organizers doing work on social justice. Dr. Ransby is the author of several books, including Making All Black Lives Matter: Reimagining Freedom in the Twenty-First Century (University of California Press, 2018).
Dr. Ransby has been a UIC faculty member since 1996. Earlier, she taught and directed the Center for African American Research at DePaul University in Chicago. She earned her bachelor’s degree in history from Columbia University in New York City and her master’s and doctoral degrees in history from the University of Michigan.
