Lynda Day

Education:

Ph.D., University of Wisconsin - Madison - 1988 (African History)

M.A., University of Wisconsin - Madison - 1980 (African Studies)

Books and Publications

Accepted for publication, "Yoko of Senehun, 1878-1884: From Mediator to "Ruler" of the Kpa Mende Confederacy," Journal of West African History. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2023

"Women's Empowerment, Women Chiefs and a Feminist Agenda." Chapter 5 in Josephine Beoku-Betts and Fredline M'Cormack, eds. War, Women's Empowerment in Post-War Sierra Leone (Zed Books, 2022). (Books and Publications: Book Chapter) 2022

"African Women Traditional Chiefs and Rulers." Palgrave Handbook of African Women's Studies. SpringerLink. First online June 19, 2020. https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-3-319-77030-7_28-1. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2020

"Nana Yaa Asantewa." Oxford Research Encyclopedia of African History. Oxford University Press. First online April 2020. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.656. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2020

Completed solicited article "Judith Van Allen and the Impact of her article, 'Sitting on Man: The Lost Political Institutions of Igbo Women' in the Classroom." Journal of West African History 3:2. Fall. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2017

"Anatomy of an Evolving Movement: The Women's Peace Movement and Political Activism in Sierra Leone Since the 1990s." JENdA: A Journal of Culture and African Women's Studies. Africa Knowledge Press. Online publication. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2015

"Women Chiefs and Post War Reconstruction in Sierra Leone." African and Asian Studies 14: 19-39. Special Issue on current scholarship on women in Sierra Leone. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2015

Gender and Power, Women Chiefs of Sierra Leone, the Last Two Hundred Years. (Palgrave/Macmillan). (Books and Publications: Book (Authored)) 2012

Edited and wrote the introduction for The Woodchopper: A Cultural Autobiography, by William Onyebeke. Philadelphia: Xlibris Press. (Books and Publications: Book (Edited)) 2009

"'Bottom Power:' Theorizing Feminism and the Women's Movement in Sierra Leone (1981-2007)." African and Asian Studies 7: 491-513. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2008

"Nyarroh of Bandasuma, 1885-1914: A Reinterpretation of Female Chieftaincy in Sierra Leone." Journal of African History 48: 415-37. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2007

Headnote for "The Women of Senehun (1882)." Women Writing Africa: West Africa and the Sahel. Eds. Esi Sutherland Addy and Aminata Diaw. New York: The Feminist Press. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2005

"What's Tourism Got to Do With It?: The Yaa Asantewa Legacy and Development in Asanteman." Africa Today, fall. (Books and Publications: Article (Peer-reviewed)) 2004

Creative Work

Co-curated a permanent exhibition of African artifacts for the Joysetta and Julius Pearse African American Museum of Nassau County (Exhibition or Performance) 2022

Awards, Honors and Fellowships

Awarded a PSC-CUNY grant for a research assistant. (Grants and Fellowships) 2023

Awarded a Tow Faculty Research grant for conference attendance and manuscript preparation. (Grants and Fellowships) 2022

Visiting Research Fellow. African Studies Program. University of Wisconsin-Madison. Fall. (Awards and Honors) 2018

CUNY Diversity Grant for Brooklyn hip hop panel presentation. (Grants and Fellowships) 2017

Tow Faculty Grant, for travel to Sierra Leone for 10 days in April. Archival and field research on Madam Yoko, 19th-century leader of the Mende in Sierra Leone. (Grants and Fellowships) 2014

PSC-CUNY research travel grant. Sierra Leone, West Africa. January. (Grants and Fellowships) 2012

CUNY Diversity grant for WGST Endowed Chair programs. (Grants and Fellowships) 2011

PSC-CUNY Research Travel Grant, for travel to Sierra Leone. Research trip made in January 2012. (Grants and Fellowships) 2011

Endowed Chair, Brooklyn College Women' s Studies Program, 2010-12. (Awards and Honors) 2010

Research associate, Five College Women's Studies Research Center, Mount Holyoke College. (Grants and Fellowships) 2010

Tow Faculty Travel Grant and PSC-CUNY Travel Grant, Sierra Leone, summer. (Grants and Fellowships) 2005

Fulbright Senior Research/Lecture Award to teach and conduct research at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana. (Grants and Fellowships) 1999

Research Activities

Continued research for a biography of Madam Yoko, a woman chief of colonial Sierra Leone, with visits to the Northwestern University African Studies Collection in April and the National Archives in London in June. 2015

Conducted research in Sierra Leone for manuscript, "Women Paramount Chiefs of the Mende: Marginality and Power," during January intersession. This research was supported by a PSC-CUNY grant awarded in June 2006. 2007

Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums

Panelist on the "Africana Now" panel in the I Am Africana Conference sponsored by the Department of Africana Studies, Brooklyn College (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Contributed Talk) 2023

Presentation on the History of African Americans on Long Island. Stony Book Hospital Medical Education Department. April, 2023 (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2023

Presentation on the History of African Americans on Long Island. Stony Brook University, Africana Studies Department. February 22. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2023

Presented a paper, The Contested Historiography of Madam Yoko, A Woman Leader of Early Colonial Sierra Leone, 65th Annual African Studies Association, Philadelphia, PA. November 2022. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2022

"Harriet Tubman: A Woman of God." Women's History Month Program. Congregational Church of South Hempstead-United Church of Christ. March 21. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2021

Invited keynote speaker. "Valiant Women of the Vote: Refusing to be Silenced." Women's History Month program. Mid-Island Club-National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women's Clubs, Inc. March 20. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2021

Panel participant. BC Faculty Day panel, #Cancel Culture: The Fallout for Cultural Artifacts when the Artist Comes into Question. Presentation title, "One Historian's Perspective on Cancel Culture." May 19. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2021

Panel participant. Hess Scholar in Residence panel, Before 1492: Comparative Pre-Modern Colonialisms. Presentation title, "Premodern Colonialism in Africa." Oct. 28. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2021

Panelist, "Slavery on Long Island." Sponsored by the Interfaith Institute (IFI) of Long Island. Moderated by Bob Keeler, former Newsday correspondent. February 10. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2021

Panelist, online conversation marking the release of the book Long Road to Freedom: Surviving Slavery on Long Island, by Jonathan Olly. Long Island Museum. March 10. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2021

"The History of African Americans on Long Island and Their African Roots." Black History Month program. Brentwood Public Library. February 2. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2020

Symposium Presentation. "Friends in the Spirit: Slavery, Freedmen and the Quakers of Long Island." Symposium for the exhibit "Long Road to Freedom: Surviving Slavery on Long Island." Long Island Museum. Stony Brook, NY. March 9. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2019

"Yoko of Mendeland: Queen or Collaborator?" Africa at Noon Seminar series. African Studies Program. University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin. October 17. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2018

"The History of Jim Crow Segregation in America: Focus on Long Island." Black History Month talk. Wyandanch Public Library. February 12. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2017

Paper presentation, "Yoko of Senehun and the Modernization of Mendeland." 11th Annual Greater New York Area African History Workshop. CUNY Graduate Center. April 7. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2017

"African American History on Long Island." Black History Month. Wyandanch Public Library, February 7. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2016

"History of Juneteenth Day." Wyandanch Public Library. June 19. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2016

"Women Chiefs and Post-War Reconstruction in Sierra Leone" at the Florida Atlantic University Center for Women, Gender, and Sexuality Symposium, The Politics of Women's Empowerment in Post-War Sierra Leone. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2016

Participant. Brooklyn Historical Society Why New York? Panel discussion series. Slavery on Long Island. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2016

Invited to present my research on women chiefs and the Sierra Leone women's movement at a State Department roundtable discussion on Sierra Leone, Aug. 25. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2014

Presented my current research and projected findings for the biography of Madam Yoko, Leader of the Kpa Mende Confederacy, at the New York Area African Historians Workshop, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J., March 28. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2014

"Women Chiefs in Post-war Reconstruction in Sierra Leone." 56th Annual African Studies Association Meeting. Baltimore, Nov. 16. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2013

Organizer and moderator, "Race, Representation and Social Responsibility" panel, as part of the Brooklyn College Global Media Ethics Conference. March 15-16. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2013

Participant, "Slavery on Long Island" panel, as part of the Hofstra University Cultural Center symposium commemorating the anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation. Nov. 5-13. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2013

Presented the co-authored paper "Women's Peace Movements and Post-War Reconstruction in Sierra Leone and Liberia." 54th annual African Studies Association Meeting. Washington, D.C. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2011

"Women Chiefs of Sierra Leone: A Reinterpretation." Five Colleges Women's Studies Research Center. Mount Holyoke College, Mar. 11. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Invited Talk) 2010

Day, Lynda and Josephine Beoku-Betts. "Women's Peace Movements and Post-War Reconstruction in Sierra Leone and Liberia." Published in the proceedings of the International Sociological Association annual meeting in Sweden. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2010

"Women Chiefs in War and Post-War Reconstruction of Sierra Leone," Fifth Annual Greater New York Historians of Africa Workshop. Hofstra University, Mar. 8. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2008

"'Bottom Power': Theorizing Feminism and Women's Political Activism in Sierra Leone," 50th Annual African Studies Association Meeting. New York, October 19. (Conferences, Seminars and Symposiums: Conference Presentation) 2007

Professional Leadership

Director of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Program (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2023

Director, Africana Research Center, Brooklyn College (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2022

Interim Director of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Honors Program. Oversaw advisement, stipends, and research training for eight minority honors students. 2020-2012 (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2021

Member, the African Studies Association Women's Caucus Student Travel Award Committee. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2020

Advisory Council. Women's Caucus of the African Studies Association. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2019

Chaired the African Studies Association Women's Caucus Student Travel Award Committee. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2019

Chaired the African Studies Association Women's Caucus Student Travel Award Committee. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2018

Served on the African Studies Association Women's Caucus Student Travel Award committee. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2017

Organizer, Sixth Annual New York Area Historians of Africa Workshop, Brooklyn College, March 6. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2009

Treasurer, Women's Caucus, African Studies Association. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2009

Co-chairperson, Brooklyn College Middle States Re-Accreditation Steering Committee. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2008

Treasurer, Women's Caucus of the African Studies Association. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2008

Co-chairperson, "Gender and Human Rights" program subcommittee, 50th Annual African Studies Association. (Professional Leadership: Committee Service) 2007

Treasurer, Women's Caucus of the African Studies Association. (Professional Leadership: Organizational Leadership Position) 2007

Pedagogical Achievements

Conducted the tenth faculty-led BC Study Abroad Seminar to Ghana. Nine students and one assistant professor. The program included an internship at the FOCOS Hospital in Accra. Summer Session II. 2018

Organized and led the ninth Ghana Study Abroad Program. Eight students and one assistant professor. Summer Session II. 2017

Led monthlong study abroad program to Ghana. Summer Session II. Taught two courses as part of the program. 2016

Organized and lead seventh summer study abroad program to Ghana, with 10 student participants and one program assistant. Students attended lectures and seminars with Ghanaian professors, toured historic sites, and participated in service teaching and learning workshops in the town of Besease in the Ashanti region. 2013

Organized and led sixth study abroad program to Ghana. Fourteen students and one college assistant participated. Students were enrolled in one of three courses. 2011

Offered a course, Africana Studies 11.5, "Southern Africa," in Cape Town, South Africa, as a study abroad program with Brooklyn College students. Sponsored by the Mellon-Mays University Fellowship of the Honors Academy. 2008

Conducted third Summer Seminar Abroad to Ghana with 11 Brooklyn College students, summer. 2007

Community Activities

Trustee, Congregational Church of South Hempstead 2023

Elected to the Church Board, the governing body of the Congregational Church of South Hempstead. Continuing service on the Trustee Board. 2019

Gave talks on African folktales, travel to Ghana, and the Narrative of Olaudah Equiano at Pine Forest High School, Fayetteville, North Carolina. September 18. 2017

"Visiting the Motherland!" Talk at the Brooklyn Explore Charter School PTA annual Black History Month program. 2016

Black History Month presentation on African culture and contemporary affairs at the Shawungunk Correctional Facility in Wallkill, N.Y., February 28. 2009

Black History Month Speaker, Nassau County Historical Society, February 19. 2006

Black History Month Speaker, Roosevelt Public Library, February 12. 2006

Presentation on Africa to students in the Summer Health Internship Program at the Nassau County Medical Center, July 25. 2006

Women's History Month Speaker, Congregational Church of South Hempstead, March 16. 2006

Other Professional Activities

On camera interview for New York 1 discussion of the Juneteenth holiday. June 18. 2023

Consultant to review and edit the signage for the Sankofa Park African Burial Ground in New Lots, Brooklyn. 2022

Participant. BC Black Faculty and Staff Panel. Flatbush African Burial Ground presentation. 2022

Article Peer Reviewer. Journal of Slavery & Abolition. Published out of University College London. Special issue, Slavery and Marriage in African Societies. Draft article title: "The Same in All but Name? The Intersections of Marriage and Slavery in Sierra Leone, 1890-1930."




2021

Article Peer reviewer. Oxford Encyclopedia of African Women's History, "Sierra Leone Women" 2021

Online public affairs interview discussing Reparations for Slavery on "Represent NYC," Manhattan Neighborhood Network. Aired Feb. 23, 2020
http://www.mnn.org. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OP1RSXOkBFk 2020

Consultant and reviewer for the Long Island Museum exhibit "Long Road to Freedom: Surviving Slavery on Long Island." 2018

Accompanied NBSSO students on a mission trip to Ghana. January. 2017

External reviewer, Nassau Community College African American Studies Department, Garden City, N.Y. Site visit, April 27. Wrote the evaluators' report. 2015

External evaluator, Nassau Community College Africana Studies Department's periodic review. 2010

External evaluator for the SUNY New Paltz Black Studies Department's Ten-Year Review. 2009

Fellow, 2006 class of the Higher Education Resources Services (HERS) Summer Institute for Women in Higher Education Administration, Bryn Mawr College. June 25-July 21. 2006