Students and faculty work on collage under guidance of Kassandra Pantoja, noted mixed
media artist
Dr. Zebulon Miletsky spoke at Writing Beyond the Prison: Reimagining the Carceral Ecosystem with Incarcerated Authors
This public humanities project, created through a university-community partnership,
is designed to support, publish, archive, and make widely available the writings of
those most directly impacted by the carceral system.
Writing Beyond the Prison is founded upon the belief that writing is more than the
production of the written word. Rather, it is a process that involves reflection,
conceptualization and self-realization that can be truly transformative. When shared
with the wider world, writing moves beyond an act of individual consciousness and
self-expression to become a communal exchange that creates knowledge, empathy and
recognition of shared conditions. The American Council of Learned Societies, United
Black Families and Herstory sponsors this programs talks
Dr. Dana Williams, Run Run Shaw lecturer from Howard University was the keynote speaker
at Toni Morrison: Editorial Legacy and Literary and Artistic Freedom event September
21, 23-24 in Stony Brook's Humanities Institute. This event included a public reading
of The Bluest Eye, a book signing, discussions on book banning and a collage workshop hosted by mixed
media artist Kassandra Pantoja. Dr. Williams shared her perspective as Dr. Morrison's
biographer during Dr. Morrison's time at Random House editing works of luminaries in the political, artistic and sports world.
Students and faculty at Black Excellence talk with Noel Anderson on September 30,
2026. Noel Anderson brought slides of his work, books to sign and signed a poster
for the Africana Studies Department. Dr. Rita Nezami who introduced Noel Anderson
was the driving force in getting him to address our students in a personal and intimate
way!
Noel Anderson signs his catalogue for Dr. Janet Ward. The catalogue will be housed
in the Richard B. Moore Library, SBS S224. Come and see the rare books, first editions
and journals of the African Diaspora housed in this great space. The books, once
owned by the Turner Family, serves as a resource for the entire Stony Brook community.
To have a signed catalogue of Noel Anderson's exhibit at the Zuccaire Gallery in
the Richard B. Moore Library is a fitting tribute to the Turner family and their legacy.
AFSS (Africana Studies Student Society) presented their work with a $500 grant from
Center for the Changing Systems of Power on October 22nd at the Humanities Institute.
For their research, the students spoke with a Riverhead Jail inmate for many hours
as the inmate detailed challenges of finding stable, substanative employment for
the support of his family. Pictures, video and music accompanied the uninterrupted,
extemporaneous conversations with the inmate creating a realistic yet raw experience
for those learning of an incarerated person's journey.
On Wednesday, October 28th, Dr. Rita Nezami presented a research talk on the women
in Morocco who carve out safe spaces for work, socializing and tea rituals on the
rooftops in Tangier. Dr. Nezami explained that the rooftop space remains unofficially
female providing the women a refuge from the male domination of their world. Dr.
Nezami painted a warm picture of the women she interviewed and accompanied the narrative
with sumptuous, sun-filled pictures of the roof spaces prompting students in the audience
to share memories of their grandmothers' cloistered rooftop spaces in Africa, the
Caribbean and South America.
