Karsonya (Kaye) Wise Whitehead, Ph.D.

Passionate, edgy, unapologetic... RaceBrave: new and selected works provides another glimpse into Karsonya Wise Whitehead's work to document her experience raising two black boys in a post-racial America. On July 7, 2014, the day Eric Garner was murdered, Whitehead set out to write about what was happening across America to unarmed black people, in doing so she explores the feelings of hopelessness and helplessness that resonate with parents around the country-sometimes with humor, sometimes… Show more

Passionate, edgy, unapologetic... RaceBrave: new and selected works provides another glimpse into Karsonya Wise Whitehead's work to document her experience raising two black boys in a post-racial America. On July 7, 2014, the day Eric Garner was murdered, Whitehead set out to write about what was happening across America to unarmed black people, in doing so she explores the feelings of hopelessness and helplessness that resonate with parents around the country-sometimes with humor, sometimes with sadness, but always with an ear that bends toward the truth. In marking these moments, Whitehead also reached back into her childhood diaries to examine how life has changed for her, as a writer, a poet, and a mother over the years. RaceBrave is a masterwork that covers multiple topics and captures every mood. Show less

Infusing movement and color in many of his works, Calvin sets out to capture new feelings and emotions in his paintings. Over the last decade, Calvin has spent time perfecting his use of various mediums such as: watercolor, oil, charcoal, acrylic and his unique collage technique. More recently, he has further stretched the expressive possibilities of his collages by combining fabric and textured paper with acrylic and oil paints to create works of spectacular richness and texture. The messages… Show more

Infusing movement and color in many of his works, Calvin sets out to capture new feelings and emotions in his paintings. Over the last decade, Calvin has spent time perfecting his use of various mediums such as: watercolor, oil, charcoal, acrylic and his unique collage technique. More recently, he has further stretched the expressive possibilities of his collages by combining fabric and textured paper with acrylic and oil paints to create works of spectacular richness and texture. The messages that Coleman's works relay are global as he strongly believes that his spiritual beliefs are global and has the power to transcend cultural, ethnic and national barriers. Show less

"I want you to be fully present in your own life, a change agent who is not afraid to dare to be who you are. I wonder though, my dear sweet child, how I can mother you when I have not been able to mother myself? How can I give you the tools to survive this brutal world when I have not been able to craft these tools to save myself? How can I stand up for you when my whole life has been spent trying so hard to stand up for myself? I am not perfect. I am flawed. I am pregnant. And in nine months,… Show more

"I want you to be fully present in your own life, a change agent who is not afraid to dare to be who you are. I wonder though, my dear sweet child, how I can mother you when I have not been able to mother myself? How can I give you the tools to survive this brutal world when I have not been able to craft these tools to save myself? How can I stand up for you when my whole life has been spent trying so hard to stand up for myself? I am not perfect. I am flawed. I am pregnant. And in nine months, I will be your mother."

And so begins Karsonya Wise Whitehead's first letter to her oldest son. For the past 14 years, she has written letters, poems, notes, and words of inspiration to her two boys, Kofi Elijah and Amir Elisha. She has documented everything from their first steps to their first encounter with racism; from their questions about race to their questions about falling in love. She has borne witness to their tears of joy and pain, their cries of frustration and discovery, and the difficulties that they have encountered growing up black and male. This is her love for them poured out onto the page, a document that traces her (and her husband's) journey to try and raise happy and healthy black boys in a post-racial America. Show less

The Rethinking Emilie Frances Davis companion reader is a supplemental curriculum guide that expands the work on Emilie Davis that was started in the award-winning book Notes from a Colored Girl: The Civil War Pocket Diaries of Emilie Frances Davis (USC Press, May 2014) written by Karsonya Wise Whitehead. Curriculum designers from a range of content areas and grade levels offer common core aligned lesson plan sets for middle, high school, and college students that outline the scope and sequence… Show more

The Rethinking Emilie Frances Davis companion reader is a supplemental curriculum guide that expands the work on Emilie Davis that was started in the award-winning book Notes from a Colored Girl: The Civil War Pocket Diaries of Emilie Frances Davis (USC Press, May 2014) written by Karsonya Wise Whitehead. Curriculum designers from a range of content areas and grade levels offer common core aligned lesson plan sets for middle, high school, and college students that outline the scope and sequence and frame the organization of activities and assignments in a coherent fashion. Edited by Whitehead and Conra Gist, the reader includes Whitehead's article-Forensic Herstor­ical Investigation: Redefining Emilie-which analyzes Whitehead's method of active engagement, close reading, and archival research; and, Gist's article-A Black Feminist Interpretation: Reading Life, Pedagogy, and Emilie-that uses a black feminist lens to explore the life of Emilie Davis. The user-friendly design of the book allows Davis's life to be viewed through a transdisciplinary lens enabling teachers to work both across disciplines and beyond their own discipline to help students connect to the life of a 19th century free black woman. Show less

In Sparking the Genius, Whitehead outlines the Critical Moments in American History that defined both the beginning of the early Civil Rights Movement-with the release of the Emancipation Proclamation-and the modern Civil Rights Movement in 1963. Starting with the Birmingham Campaign (Project C), Whitehead outlines, defines, and deconstructs five Critical Moments including the release of Dr. King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," the assassination of Medgar Evers, the March on Washington, and… Show more

In Sparking the Genius, Whitehead outlines the Critical Moments in American History that defined both the beginning of the early Civil Rights Movement-with the release of the Emancipation Proclamation-and the modern Civil Rights Movement in 1963. Starting with the Birmingham Campaign (Project C), Whitehead outlines, defines, and deconstructs five Critical Moments including the release of Dr. King's "Letter from a Birmingham Jail," the assassination of Medgar Evers, the March on Washington, and the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. With an introduction from Dr. Alicia Moore and Dr. La Vonne Neal, the book also includes an article on critical pedagogy by Dr. Conra Gist and a lesson plan for teaching the Woodson Lecture to K-16 students. Whitehead's 2013 Carter G. Woodson Lecture is both a challenge and a call to action: Will you answer the call to help spark the genius? "Sparking the Genius is a gem that illuminates the African American struggle in the United States. - Daryl Michael Scott, Professor of History, Howard University, and President of ASALH "In the dynamic oratory voice of her father, who is a pastor, Whitehead challenges us to (re)spark the genius in not only ourselves, but to also spark this genius in those we come in contact with, especially the youth." - Janet Sims-Wood, Ph.D., National VP for Membership of ASALH "Sparking the Genius is a riveting call to action from Dr. Whitehead to all generations to fully embrace and learn from our Black History and Heritage." - Cheryl Clark, CEO, National Visionary Leadership Project "Karsonya Wise Whitehead is one of our new script-writers!" - La Vonne Neal, Dean, Northern Illinois University, College of Education Show less

"Notes from a Colored Girl is a beautiful testament to the personal life of a single free black woman, superbly reconstructed within the social, political, and religious life of free people of color in Civil War Philadelphia. Karsonya Wise Whitehead's meticulous attention to detail brings Emilie Francis Davis - a literate woman participating in and shaping the spaces of a free society near the contested borders of slavery - and her personal writings to life. Emilie's diary is an enduring legacy… Show more

"Notes from a Colored Girl is a beautiful testament to the personal life of a single free black woman, superbly reconstructed within the social, political, and religious life of free people of color in Civil War Philadelphia. Karsonya Wise Whitehead's meticulous attention to detail brings Emilie Francis Davis - a literate woman participating in and shaping the spaces of a free society near the contested borders of slavery - and her personal writings to life. Emilie's diary is an enduring legacy of the mundane and the extraordinary, carrying us through everyday moments of joy and tragedy, of sewing, socializing, church and school, all within the larger contextual landscape of a nation in upheaval and a community undergoing change. Whitehead treats us with a rare glimpse into a spirited and articulate single woman's interior world, revealing how she navigated the worlds of work, friendships, religion, family, politics, and community. A great addition to interdisciplinary studies, Notes from a Colored Girl is perfect for exploring the historic contours of race, gender, faith, freedom and community in the nation's most vibrant biracial city of the age."--Kate Clifford Larson, Ph.D., author, Bound For the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero Show less