Karsonya Wise Whitehead, president of The Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), reflects on America’s founding through a Black historical lens, emphasizing centuries of resistance, contributions and ongoing struggles for freedom, equality and inclusion in the nation’s promise.
Author Archives: Dr. Karsonya Wise Whitehead
Posted inOpinion
ASALH issues statement on evisceration of the Voting Rights Act of 1965
Dr. Karsonya “Kaye” Wise Whitehead, leader of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) strongly condemns the recent Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decision in the Louisiana v. Callais case. As the premier Black heritage and learned society, ASALH and its leadership knows this is yet another marker in the ongoing fight to secure and protect our vote—a struggle against disenfranchisement that we have been engaged in since the early 1800s.
Posted inOPINION
Black History Month 2026: We proclaim it!
By Dr. Kaye Whitehead In 1926, during the nadir of Black history, Dr. Carter G. Woodson—the founder of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), the son of formerly enslaved parents, a former sharecropper and miner, and the second Black person to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard University—launched the first […]
Posted inCommentary
ASALH leads resistance to attacks on Smithsonian and U.S. history
ASALH is standing in opposition to the President’s directive to review archival materials and remove any exhibit or artifact that does not align with his definition of American exceptionalism, and is calling for daily acts of resistance to preserve and protect Black history.
Posted inCommentary
Defending democracy: ASALH’s Magna Carta for resistance and renewal
As American democracy faces unprecedented challenges, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) is leading a movement to resist and rebuild. Through its Magna Carta, ASALH outlines actionable steps for civic engagement, accountability, and grassroots activism to safeguard democracy and empower communities.
Posted inCommentary
Fighters, resisters, survivors: Our legacy of standing tall in the face of oppression
My great-great-grandfather, Moses, was a fighter and resister who was lynched by the Ku Klux Klan in 1906 for his efforts to encourage Black people to exercise their constitutional right to vote, and today we are facing a similar moment where we must fight against the collapse of democracy and the creation of a fascist regime that is trying to break us, silence us, and erase us.
Posted inBlack History
Black History Month 2025: We proclaim it
Dr. Karsonya Whitehead, national president of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, reflects on the gear-shifting moments in history that have contributed to the fight against racial oppression and the importance of celebrating Black history.
Posted inCommentary
Commentary: National Women’s Studies Association won’t be overshadowed by White nationalism
By Dr. Kaye Whitehead, Special to the AFRO Like many of you, the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) has been alarmed, angered and frustrated by the legislative efforts of the Republican party to limit our academic freedom, censor the teaching of African-American, gender and queer studies. They place us in an untenable situation where we […]
Posted inOpinion
Angel Reese and why we don’t go high anymore
By Dr. Karsonya Wise Whitehead There are always moments that serve as reminders that for all of the talking that America has done about racism and sexism, it still exists. We host conferences on race and lead workshops on anti-racism. We write articles and publish books about sexism; still, there are moments when it feels […]
Posted inCommentary
Black History Month 2023: The Power of Black Resistance
By Karsonya Wise Whitehead In 1644, as our nation was still in the very early stages of growth and development, the first documented moment of Black protest and resistance happened in America. Eleven enslaved men and women living in the Black community of New Amsterdam, the principal port city and capital, petitioned for and won […]
Posted inCommentary
NWSA stands in solidarity with Iranian protestors
By Kaye Whitehead, Ph.D. and Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Ph.D. The National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) is more than just an academic association. We are activists. We are freedom fighters. We are feminists. We are scholars. We understand that there are times when we must speak up because our silence will never protect us, and if we […]
Posted inCommentary
Commentary: Running as a metaphor for life: a marathon participant’s story
By Dr. Kaye Whitehead Fitness, like life, is not about how much you can lift or run or do today, but about becoming a little bit stronger, maybe even a little faster every day. The week after I dropped my son at college, I started working out with Coach Chauncey twice a week. It was […]