Dr. Nishani Frazier is Professor of History and Director of Public History at North Carolina State University. Her research interests include: 1960s freedom movements (CORE), oral history, food, digital humanities, and black economic development. Nishani’s recent book publication, Harambee City: The Congress of Racial Equality in Cleveland and the Rise of Black Power Populism, was released with an accompanying website also titled Harambee City. Harambee City website provides a second layer of book “reading” via online access to maps, archival documents, teacher lesson plans, and oral history interviews. Frazier’s other writings include: “To Die For the People: Prophecy and Death in the Rhetoric of Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, and Fred Hampton" in Homegoings, Crossings, and Passings: Life and Death in the African Diaspora
We five scholars saw Fire!!!’s call to rethink and revisit the Black freedom movement as a challe... more We five scholars saw Fire!!!’s call to rethink and revisit the Black freedom movement as a challenge. Not only were we inspired by the call, but we wanted to share how we learned from and had been challenged by one another’s work, as we rethought and rewrote freedom movement narratives over the last decade. We each picked primary sources we believe are undervalued and rarely taught in the mainstream narratives of civil rights. We all wrote short descriptions of our submissions: what do these documents teach us about the movement? Then, to invoke the power of group-centered leadership, or the movement idea of call and response, two of us responded to each scholar’s piece. We hope the result enriches and challenges the teaching and sharing of the movement.
We five scholars saw Fire!!!’s call to rethink and revisit the Black freedom movement as a challe... more We five scholars saw Fire!!!’s call to rethink and revisit the Black freedom movement as a challenge. Not only were we inspired by the call, but we wanted to share how we learned from and had been challenged by one another’s work, as we rethought and rewrote freedom movement narratives over the last decade. We each picked primary sources we believe are undervalued and rarely taught in the mainstream narratives of civil rights. We all wrote short descriptions of our submissions: what do these documents teach us about the movement? Then, to invoke the power of group-centered leadership, or the movement idea of call and response, two of us responded to each scholar’s piece. We hope the result enriches and challenges the teaching and sharing of the movement.
We five scholars saw Fire!!!’s call to rethink and revisit the Black freedom movement as a challe... more We five scholars saw Fire!!!’s call to rethink and revisit the Black freedom movement as a challenge. Not only were we inspired by the call, but we wanted to share how we learned from and had been challenged by one another’s work, as we rethought and rewrote freedom movement narratives over the last decade. We each picked primary sources we believe are undervalued and rarely taught in the mainstream narratives of civil rights. We all wrote short descriptions of our submissions: what do these documents teach us about the movement? Then, to invoke the power of group-centered leadership, or the movement idea of call and response, two of us responded to each scholar’s piece. We hope the result enriches and challenges the teaching and sharing of the movement.
Early history of the Congress of Racial Equality through the 1940s. This essay rewrites the organ... more Early history of the Congress of Racial Equality through the 1940s. This essay rewrites the organization's foundation history initially written by August Meier and Elliot Rudwick, who argued that CORE began as a non-violent organization. The process was much more complex and not all members saw non-violence as a philosophical belief system, though they accepted it as a strategy. It also puts to rest the debate among CORE members that emerged after the release of Farmer's autobiography regarding how the organization was founded. It also includes some discussion on the matter of self-defense.
Discusses the history of cooperative economics in Cleveland, Ohio. Particular attention is given ... more Discusses the history of cooperative economics in Cleveland, Ohio. Particular attention is given to the work of CORE and the establishment of its Harambee City Target Project, a black power program centered on economic uplift. The organization eventually creates CORE Enterprises (CORENCO), an entity that moves CORE toward community and economic development. It also includes discussion on the McDonald's protest which led efforts to establish a cooperatively owned restaurant in Cleveland.
We five scholars saw Fire!!!’s call to rethink and revisit the Black freedom movement as a challe... more We five scholars saw Fire!!!’s call to rethink and revisit the Black freedom movement as a challenge. Not only were we inspired by the call, but we wanted to share how we learned from and had been challenged by one another’s work, as we rethought and rewrote freedom movement narratives over the last decade. We each picked primary sources we believe are undervalued and rarely taught in the mainstream narratives of civil rights. We all wrote short descriptions of our submissions: what do these documents teach us about the movement? Then, to invoke the power of group-centered leadership, or the movement idea of call and response, two of us responded to each scholar’s piece. We hope the result enriches and challenges the teaching and sharing of the movement.
We five scholars saw Fire!!!’s call to rethink and revisit the Black freedom movement as a challe... more We five scholars saw Fire!!!’s call to rethink and revisit the Black freedom movement as a challenge. Not only were we inspired by the call, but we wanted to share how we learned from and had been challenged by one another’s work, as we rethought and rewrote freedom movement narratives over the last decade. We each picked primary sources we believe are undervalued and rarely taught in the mainstream narratives of civil rights. We all wrote short descriptions of our submissions: what do these documents teach us about the movement? Then, to invoke the power of group-centered leadership, or the movement idea of call and response, two of us responded to each scholar’s piece. We hope the result enriches and challenges the teaching and sharing of the movement.
We five scholars saw Fire!!!’s call to rethink and revisit the Black freedom movement as a challe... more We five scholars saw Fire!!!’s call to rethink and revisit the Black freedom movement as a challenge. Not only were we inspired by the call, but we wanted to share how we learned from and had been challenged by one another’s work, as we rethought and rewrote freedom movement narratives over the last decade. We each picked primary sources we believe are undervalued and rarely taught in the mainstream narratives of civil rights. We all wrote short descriptions of our submissions: what do these documents teach us about the movement? Then, to invoke the power of group-centered leadership, or the movement idea of call and response, two of us responded to each scholar’s piece. We hope the result enriches and challenges the teaching and sharing of the movement.
Early history of the Congress of Racial Equality through the 1940s. This essay rewrites the organ... more Early history of the Congress of Racial Equality through the 1940s. This essay rewrites the organization's foundation history initially written by August Meier and Elliot Rudwick, who argued that CORE began as a non-violent organization. The process was much more complex and not all members saw non-violence as a philosophical belief system, though they accepted it as a strategy. It also puts to rest the debate among CORE members that emerged after the release of Farmer's autobiography regarding how the organization was founded. It also includes some discussion on the matter of self-defense.
Discusses the history of cooperative economics in Cleveland, Ohio. Particular attention is given ... more Discusses the history of cooperative economics in Cleveland, Ohio. Particular attention is given to the work of CORE and the establishment of its Harambee City Target Project, a black power program centered on economic uplift. The organization eventually creates CORE Enterprises (CORENCO), an entity that moves CORE toward community and economic development. It also includes discussion on the McDonald's protest which led efforts to establish a cooperatively owned restaurant in Cleveland.
National Council of Black Studies Conference, 2024
This presentation was first given at the National Council for Black Studies 2024 Conference. It i... more This presentation was first given at the National Council for Black Studies 2024 Conference. It is currently undergoing expansion and edits for submission to a journal. The project is underway via submissions for grants.
ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence (AI) entered the public psyche only months ago, but each raised critical questions about digital ethics. These systems used LLMs (large language models)- algorithms that utilize massive data from the internet- to summarize, translate, and generate text. Early models demonstrated components of racism, sexism, classism, and nihilism. Two early AI models suppositioned that humans should be destroyed or live in a zoo. Black artists like Stephanie Dinkins countered the LLM internet dump approach with an AI training methodology based on black women’s oral histories. Dinkins recognized that the crafting of a “mind,” especially a digitized black mind, required a greater care, nuance, and consideration of the human experience.
This paper will discuss how Garvey LLM hopes to to craft a digital black nationalist mind utilizing the words and world of Marcus Garvey and what it means to digitize the mind and soul of Marcus Garvey. It formulates and explains the theoretical and ethical underpinnings that will build digital Garvey. The essay argues that Garvey LLM must create a methodology that eschews the pitfalls of technology focused LLMs, and ensures a functional digital system that centers the black human experience and spirit. This paper will also discuss how the world that created Marcus Garvey will figure in the composition of the large language model. The Garvey LLM Project intends to intertwine both Garvey’s words and world into the construction of a digital black nationalist mind informed by the spirit of a people.
Black Digital humanities must act to represent -- in the digital world--- a radical assertion of ... more Black Digital humanities must act to represent -- in the digital world--- a radical assertion of self – our history, our beauty, our style, our sound, our imagination, and our souls --- but we must begin to ensure that when we do represent the fullness of ourselves… that we do it on our own terms. The ideas we offer emanate from our work, professional, and personal experiences. It is a guidepost for how to think about black digital humanities and construct theoretical framework or rather a proper etiquette for doing black studies and digital humanities. What we propose is by no means comprehensive nor intended to capture the totality of black studies in digital humanities. Instead, we assert that – that which we do outline- is the start for reframing black studies as more than the embodiment of resistance, but rather as an audacious, prideful affirmation of self. Most importantly, it means not to just do black digital humanities – but to do it the right way or perhaps dare I say, not to do it all.
The question of movement origin (like the Cha-Jua/Lang argument about movement demise) has partic... more The question of movement origin (like the Cha-Jua/Lang argument about movement demise) has particular relevance for how historians define a period, distinguish the black freedom movement of this era from other periods of black resistance, and the interrelated nature of civil rights to the black power movement. Within this debate lies the larger question - at what point does the modern black freedom movement mark the beginning boundaries of a period? On what basis do we define the origin of the black freedom struggle (civil rights and black power) within this period? And why or on what basis should a timeline be set or changed? This essay seeks to address these questions by positioning a middle path between the two discourses, and arguing that both sides offer useful indicators for setting the period. The discussion centers on period origin, incorporates sociological movement theories, and seeks to authenticate long historian arguments for an expanded freedom movement era. In effect, it establishes a much needed, justifiable specific date selection. The result is a black freedom movement grounded on a distinctive form of activism, which emerges from the internal, intellectual, and social transformations within the black community, as well as the impact of similar struggles internationally. This era’s embrace of a new ideological approach to activism via non-violent civil disobedience, and important areas of continuity exampled by black women’s activism around networking/community organization and activism, clearly place the freedom movement before the classical timeline, but after the 1930s, and in the World War II years.
Book review of Louis Stokes's The Gentleman from Ohio.
My parents left Cleveland, Ohio, in 1974,... more Book review of Louis Stokes's The Gentleman from Ohio. My parents left Cleveland, Ohio, in 1974, but I returned to the city of my birth in 2003. That same year, I had the honor of interviewing Congressman Louis Stokes—a man whose name was legendary. I nearly prostrated before his gaze. Stokes gave me thirty minutes and no more. My first question: Tell me about your first girlfriend? He laughed, surprised by the question. I felt quite happy. I had moved Louis Stokes to laughter! That was the high point in an otherwise uninformative exchange. Stokes pointedly told me he planned to write his autobiography. I was unlikely to get much information, and I did not.
When H-FedHist requested that I write a book review on Louis Stokes’s autobiography, The Gentleman from Ohio, I enthusiastically agreed with the energetic embodiment of School House Rock’s “Interjections!” For many years, I wondered if Stokes would complete his life story, and I looked forward to his recollections about family, the civil rights movement in Cleveland, and his political rise to the esteemed position of congressman. As I expected, The Gentleman from Ohio is a beautiful testament to familial and community kinship, and an enthralling story of individual spirit. And yet, Stokes’s memoir is frustratingly silent on the making of the man.
Harambee City: Congress of Racial Equality in Cleveland and the Rise of Black Power Populism, 2017
The opening to the book Harambee City: Congress of Racial Equality in Cleveland and the Rise of B... more The opening to the book Harambee City: Congress of Racial Equality in Cleveland and the Rise of Black Power Populism. Preface discusses oral history and digital humanities methodology as a tool for historical analysis. Challenges the notion of scholarly detachment and suggests an alternative approach, particularly for the black experience.
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ChatGPT and Artificial Intelligence (AI) entered the public psyche only months ago, but each raised critical questions about digital ethics. These systems used LLMs (large language models)- algorithms that utilize massive data from the internet- to summarize, translate, and generate text. Early models demonstrated components of racism, sexism, classism, and nihilism. Two early AI models suppositioned that humans should be destroyed or live in a zoo. Black artists like Stephanie Dinkins countered the LLM internet dump approach with an AI training methodology based on black women’s oral histories. Dinkins recognized that the crafting of a “mind,” especially a digitized black mind, required a greater care, nuance, and consideration of the human experience.
This paper will discuss how Garvey LLM hopes to to craft a digital black nationalist mind utilizing the words and world of Marcus Garvey and what it means to digitize the mind and soul of Marcus Garvey. It formulates and explains the theoretical and ethical underpinnings that will build digital Garvey. The essay argues that Garvey LLM must create a methodology that eschews the pitfalls of technology focused LLMs, and ensures a functional digital system that centers the black human experience and spirit. This paper will also discuss how the world that created Marcus Garvey will figure in the composition of the large language model. The Garvey LLM Project intends to intertwine both Garvey’s words and world into the construction of a digital black nationalist mind informed by the spirit of a people.
This essay seeks to address these questions by positioning a middle path between the two discourses, and arguing that both sides offer useful indicators for setting the period. The discussion centers on period origin, incorporates sociological movement theories, and seeks to authenticate long historian arguments for an expanded freedom movement era. In effect, it establishes a much needed, justifiable specific date selection. The result is a black freedom movement grounded on a distinctive form of activism, which emerges from the internal, intellectual, and social transformations within the black community, as well as the impact of similar struggles internationally. This era’s embrace of a new ideological approach to activism via non-violent civil disobedience, and important areas of continuity exampled by black women’s activism around networking/community organization and activism, clearly place the freedom movement before the classical timeline, but after the 1930s, and in the World War II years.
My parents left Cleveland, Ohio, in 1974, but I returned to the city of my birth in 2003. That same year, I had the honor of interviewing Congressman Louis Stokes—a man whose name was legendary. I nearly prostrated before his gaze. Stokes gave me thirty minutes and no more. My first question: Tell me about your first girlfriend? He laughed, surprised by the question. I felt quite happy. I had moved Louis Stokes to laughter! That was the high point in an otherwise uninformative exchange. Stokes pointedly told me he planned to write his autobiography. I was unlikely to get much information, and I did not.
When H-FedHist requested that I write a book review on Louis Stokes’s autobiography, The Gentleman from Ohio, I enthusiastically agreed with the energetic embodiment of School House Rock’s “Interjections!” For many years, I wondered if Stokes would complete his life story, and I looked forward to his recollections about family, the civil rights movement in Cleveland, and his political rise to the esteemed position of congressman. As I expected, The Gentleman from Ohio is a beautiful testament to familial and community kinship, and an enthralling story of individual spirit. And yet, Stokes’s memoir is frustratingly silent on the making of the man.