Founded in 1975, the Association of Black Anthropologists (ABA) is an American organization that brings together Black anthropologists in an effort to better highlight the history of African Americans, especially in regard to exploitation, oppression, and discrimination. It encourages, in particular, the involvement of Black students, including the recruitment of graduates, and establishes exchanges with African anthropologists. It publishes the journal Transforming Anthropology. The ABA seeks to address theories across academic disciplines that do not accurately represent the experience and oppression of communities of color and to aid and strengthen these theories with the inclusion of an African American historical perspective. It is one of the sections of the American Anthropological Association.
History The ABA had its origins in the Minority Caucus, which in 1968 became the Caucus of Black Anthropologists after a meeting on a Black curriculum for anthropological studies held in Seattle. At the 1969 meetings of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) in New Orleans, a symposium was held on "Ethnographic Research in Black Communities in the U.S." The following year, an AAA Committee on Minority Participation was formed under the chairmanship of Gloria Marshall.Harrison, Ira E. (24 September 2010). "The Association of Black Anthropologists: A Brief History". Transforming Anthropology. 18 (2): 120–127. doi:10.1111/j.1548-7466.2010.01088.x. Retrieved 25 February 2017 The Caucus was renamed the Association of Black Anthropologists in 1975 at that year's AAA meetings.Lowe, Candice M. (1999). "Association of Black Anthropologists". Indiana University Bloomington. Retrieved 25 February 2017. During the Civil Rights era, black graduate students began to pressure the academic world and the AAA to create a platform that would recognize, give agency to, and encourage communication among black anthropologists. The ABA joined with the AAA officially in 1987 as a way to attain further resources to meet their objectives in putting black anthropologists on the map. This was done on the agreement that the ABA would be a multidisciplinary sector that focused on all areas of study by anthropologists that dealt with challenging the dominant hegemony of white supremacy, restoration and preservation of African heritage and expansion towards a more equal society, overall.
The first president of the Association of Black Anthropologists was Vera Green who served from 1977 to 1979.
Founding story Prior to the 1960s there was little to no representation of black anthropologists at the doctorate level. Of the thirteen who did receive their doctorate prior to 1980, only a handful continued to teach in academia at the collegiate level and virtually none actively participated at the AAA. The Caucus of Black Anthropologist was founded to fill this void at the AAA conferences by representing Black anthropologists in the field. The individuals involved with the Caucus would become the founding cohort of the Association of Black Anthropologists. The Caucus collectively founded News from the Natives. The publication was intended to engage and connect past, present, and future black students and faculty of anthropology.
Editor
Jerry Wright
Chair of caucus
Anselme Remy
Committee members
Delmos Jones Patricia Guthrie Gwen Mikell
ABA Executive Board
The executive board consists of three elected officers who serve two-year terms: the president, president-elect, and secretary/treasurer; two to three members-at-large appointed by the elected officers; the general editor; the program chair; the student representative; and the nomination committee. The organization is self-defined as an egalitarian and participatory democracy with its members volunteering their time and resources.The current ABA Executive Board includes:
President
The president represents the ABA in the American Anthropological Association and oversees records of the ABA's activities.
The current president is Bertin Louis.
President-Elect is Jemima Pierre and Secretary/Treasurer is Shanti Parikh.
The president-elect votes on appointed positions. The secretary-treasurer is responsible for drafting the annual budget as well as managing correspondence records and administrative documents created during their term.
Program Chair
The program chair is appointed by the elected officers and serves a two-year term. This position presides over the ABA's scientific programs.
The current program chairs are Karen G. Williams and Mieka Polanco.
Other board members
Aisha Beliso-de Jesus, Michael Ralph, and Laurence Ralph are the editors of the ABA's journal Transforming Anthropology. Michelle Munyikwa and Amelia Herbert are the Anthropology News editors. Omotayo Jolaosho is in charge of mentoring sessions. The current archivist is Kamela Heyward-Rotimi, who serves a 5-year term and is responsible for chronicling ABA-related documents. Kalfani Turé is the current member-at-large, responsible for voting for appointed positions. The positions of membership chair, awards chair, nomination committee, and student representative are currently vacant.
Conferences and events
American Anthropological Association (AAA) annual meetings The Association of Black Anthropologists (ABA) participates in the American Anthropological Associations (AAA) annual meeting. The AAA annual meeting brings together members of the AAA and provides space for sub-associations to hold seminars and discussions around their research The ABA's participation in the AAA annual meetings is best understood through the variety of discussion and presentations offered over the last decade. The ABA uses this space to hold board meetings, discussion on transforming Black presence in Anthropology and mentoring sessions for researchers and Grad students. Sessions held are specific to members of the ABA's research, often there are themes throughout the years which illustrate the ABA's focus, examples of past ABA sessions include:
1990-2000 AAA Annual meetings in the 20th Century included varied sponsored ABA sessions on Blackness in the United States and The African Diaspora. Topics addressed State Violence, White power, Black Identity and Performance and varied topics within the subject of the African Diaspora. Sessions sponsored by the ABA during this time included:
"Teaching as Praxis: "Race" and Ideologies of Power" included topics on Racism, Teaching Language and Culture to Oppressed Groups, Teaching Race, Gender and class within a Racist and Anti-Racist framework"(1990). The 1991 Annual Meeting by the AAA included ABA sponsored topics on African American Dance, Food in Africa and the African Diaspora. Sessions included: "Diaspora Dilemmas: The Divisive Impact of Racism on African Modes of Upward Mobility in Western Worlds" 1995 AAA Annual Meeting sessions sponsored by the ABA included: "The "US Competitive Edge": Immiseration and Fascist Policy" "Communicating Communities: The Politics and Poetics of Identity in the Public Sphere" "Black Is...Black Ain't: Difference, Transnationality and the Signifier of Blackness" "Violence and Institutional Systems of Power" The 1999 AAA Annual Meeting included extensive topics on Race, many sponsored and guided by the work of the ABA. Reported to include a dozen sessions around the topics of race and whiteness, such as "Racism and its Discontents: Past, Present and Future in Brazil" and "Performing 'Race' and Ethnicity in the Crisis of the Medical Moment".
2000-2010 ABA involvement in sessions at the AAA Annual Meetings before 2010 is less apparent than recent years and the public records to illustrate involvement is sparse. From 2000 to 2010 ABA sponsored sessions revolved around writing workshops, ABA board and business meetings, mentoring sessions and some special topics of global African issues and Race research in the United States. Session topics included:
"Global Problems, Local Knowledge's: Negotiating Structures of Violence and Disease in Africa" (2000) "Writing for your Life" (2000) and other similar writing workshops. "Race, Gender and Engaged Research: Interrogating the Issues a Decade Later" was the only session sponsored by the ABA at the 2008 AAA annual meeting.
2010-2012 ABA Sponsored session at the AAA Annual meeting from 2010-2012 revolved around topics of the African Diaspora, Criminalization/Imprisonment of Black bodies, Race and Gender (representation in media and popular culture) and impacts of Gentrification and Politics.
The 2011 AAA Annual meeting included ABA sessions that were diverse and varied across topics. Aside from ABA board meetings, mentoring sessions and business meetings, sessions sponsored by the ABA included: "Anthropology and Historically Black Colleges and Universities", addressing the current state of Anthropology at HBCUs, how to build on and expand the discipline within HBCUs and challenges in doing so. "Tracing Performance Aesthetics in Africa, The Caribbean and their Diasporas: The History Making, Public Art, Social Practice and Subjectivity" focused on topics of the Congo, Queer Caribbean Art, Trinidadian Rapso Performance and Visual Arts of the Caribbean. "Theorizing Punishment and the State" included subsections punishment, criminalization of black bodies and mixed race persons and rethinking the incarceration of sexual assault survivors. "Race and Gender Performance: Images and Representations of Black Masculinity and Femininity in Popular Culture and Film" discussed gender representation in popular culture, from masculinity (of men and women) to how race is portrayed in film and television - specifically an Ethnography of the "Real" Housewives of Atlanta (by Dr. Riche Daniel Barnes). "Inequality:Immigration, Housing and Race" included topics on home ownership among low income communities, Gentrification, Afro-Caribbean experiences and other housing crises around the world. The 2012 AAA Annual Meeting included many new discussions sponsored by the ABA, many revolved around the expansion and reach of Anthropology. One session was titled "Imagining Anthropology without Borders". Additional topics included subjects around popular culture, youth performance, music and dance. Other sessions included the topics: "Punishment and the State: Imprisonment, Transgressions, Scapegoats and The Contributions of Anthropology" "Negotiated Blackness: The Politics of Genes, Gender, Beauty and Multi-Racial Identity" "Telling the Truth: Pioneer, Archaeology, and Emancipation projects Then and Now"
2012-2016 ABA sponsored sessions at the AAA Annual Meetings between 2012 and 2016 discussed reoccurring topics of Gender, Black Bodies and the strengthening of Black Communities. The topics vary each year, there are however consistent sessions to discuss ways of transforming Anthropology and preserving the history and legacy of Black Academics and Leaders.
The 2013 AAA Annual Meeting held 16 ABA sponsored sessions. As with previous years, topics varied from housing to gender and transforming Anthropology. Session subjects included: "Black Women's Intellectual and Political Work Chicago Style: Conversations with Cathy Cohen and Barabara Ransby" "Development, Housing and Community in African America" included topics on masculinity, segregation, political activism and politics of Brazil. "Race and Racism in Comparative Perspective: Part II" discussed topics of Nationalism and Racism, challenges in addressing structural racism and other topics of rationalization, domestic and international. "Museums, Cultural Sites and Landmarks of African America" included topics on the African Diaspora, Transculturalization, and preserving African Heritage through preservation efforts and exhibits.