Barbara Ransby (born May 12, 1957) is a writer,

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

, professor, and

activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

. She is an elected fellow of the

Society of American Historians The Society of American Historians, founded in 1939, encourages and honors literary distinction in the writing of history and biography about American topics. The approximately 300 members include professional historians, independent scholars, jou ...

, and holds the John D. MacArthur Chair at the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the University of Illinois ...

. Ransby attended

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, where she graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1984, and completed her master's degree and PhD at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. In 1996, she joined the faculty of University of Illinois at Chicago, where she is professor of Black Studies and

Gender and Women's Studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field no ...

at the university. Ransby was elected president of the

National Women's Studies Association The National Women's Studies Association (NWSA) is an organization founded in 1977, made up of scholars and practitioners in the field of women's studies also known as women's and gender studies, feminist studies, and related names in the 21st c ...

for a two-year term, which began in November 2016. She is an historian of the

Movement for Black Lives The Movement for Black Lives (M4BL) is a coalition of more than 50 groups representing the interests of black communities across the United States. Members include the Black Lives Matter Network, the National Conference of Black Lawyers, and th ...

. Ransby's academic work has featured biographies of 20th-century black women activists

Ella Baker Ella Josephine Baker (December 13, 1903 – December 13, 1986) was an African-American civil rights and human rights activist. She was a largely behind-the-scenes organizer whose career spanned more than five decades. In New York City and t ...

and

Eslanda Robeson Eslanda "Essie" Cardozo Goode Robeson (December 15, 1895 – December 13, 1965) was an American anthropologist, author, actress, and civil rights activist. She was the wife and business manager of performer Paul Robeson. Biography Early y ...

. In contemporary politics, she has been executive director of a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

. Her daughter Asha Rosa Ransby-Sporn is as of 2021 a national organizing co-chair of the non-profit youth organization

BYP100 Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100) is an African American youth organization in the United States.Aaron C. DavisBlack youth group demands D.C. mayor recall officers from Baltimore ''Washington Post'' (April 29, 2017). Its activities include community ...

. In 1995, Ransby, together with other black feminists including

Angela Davis Angela Yvonne Davis (born January 26, 1944) is an American political activist, philosopher, academic, scholar, and author. She is a professor at the University of California, Santa Cruz. A feminist and a Marxist, Davis was a longtime member of ...

, Evelynn Hammonds and Kimberlé Crenshaw, formed an alliance called the African American Agenda 2000 to oppose

Louis Farrakhan Louis Farrakhan (; born Louis Eugene Walcott, May 11, 1933) is an American religious leader, Black supremacy, black supremacist, Racism, anti-white and Antisemitism, antisemitic Conspiracy theory, conspiracy theorist, and former singer who hea ...

's Million Man March, out of concern that it would further black male sexism.

Selected works

Books

*''Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic Vision'' (2003, UNC Press) *''Eslanda: The Large and Unconventional Life of Mrs. Paul Robeson'' (2013, Yale Press) *''Making All Black Lives Matter: Reimagining Freedom in the Twenty-First Century'' (2018, University of California Press)

Articles

* "Suffocate Black Women Voices" (1991)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ransby, Barbara 1957 births 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American writers 21st-century American historians African-American writers Living people University of Illinois Chicago faculty University of Michigan alumni Columbia University School of General Studies alumni