Dr. Ruth Nicole Brown, Inaugural Chairperson of African American and African Studies presents her community engaged research, "Black Girl Genius" to the MSU Board of Trustees February 12, 2021.

Dr. Ruth Nicole Brown is at her best when disciplinary norms are disrupted in favor of creating ideas that swing. Brown’s research documents and analyzes Black girls’ lived experiences and the practical ways they make Black girlhood with those who love them.

Her previous work has explored how Black girls conceptualize freedom, creativity, and relationships in Saving Our Lives Hear Our Truths or (SOLHOT). The SOLHOT program has received external support from The Novo Foundation and The Whiting Foundation. She will be discussing this research and outreach program with us today. Brown has authored two books, Hear Our Truths: The Creative Potential of Black Girlhood and Black Girlhood Celebration: Toward A Hip Hop Feminist Pedagogy, as well as numerous essays and journal articles, and co-edited several anthologies.

Before coming to MSU, she was an Associate Professor of Education Policy and Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Currently, Dr. Brown is the Inaugural Chairperson and MSU Foundation Professor of the Department of African American and African Studies at Michigan State University.