Women’s History Month Hidden Figure: A Special Tribute to Miriam DeCosta-Willis (1934-2021)

[ By: Victoria Garcia Unzueta ] “Among her many professional friends and colleagues, we consider Miriam DeCosta-Willis the godmother of Afro-Hispanic Literature and culture.  Her footprints and magnanimous contributions as a scholar-civil rights activist will forever be inspirational and trailblazing to those of us who regard her as one of Maya Angelou’s phenomenal women.” – Dr. James Davis, Associate Dean, Academic & Student Affairs & […]

Afro-Latinae Reading List

[By: Kai Hansen] In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, HBW has compiled a reading list for the occasion. From memoirs to graphic novels, here are 10 fantastic books by Afro-Latinae authors you should read this month:   A Message From Rosa – An African Diaspora Novel in Short Stories by Quince Duncan A Message From Rosa consists of a series of short stories describing historical […]

HBW Emerging Scholars: Edwidge Danticat and the Collective Self

[by Caroline Porter] Editor’s Note: The HBW Blog is introducing a new blog series, Emerging Scholars, that offers graduate student scholars the chance to post pieces that speak to their own critical interests in more depth than a usual blog post.  Caroline Porter, currently pursuing her M.A. in Literature at KU, inaugurates the series with a post on HBW favorite Edwidge Danticat. Edwidge Danticat is […]

Afro-Latin@ Scholars and Writers: Junot Díaz

Today, as National Hispanic Heritage Month draws to a close, the HBW Blog finishes out its series on Afro-Latin@ writers and scholars with a short consideration of Junot Díaz. In a 2011 interview with Fox News Latino, Dominican-American novelist, essayist, and short-story writer Junot Díaz spoke candidly about how, as an immigrant growing up in New Jersey, his Afro-Latino racial and ethnic heritage left him […]

Afro-Latin@ Writers and Scholars: Piri Thomas

[by Meredith Wiggins] In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15), the HBW Blog will be featuring short weekly posts on Afro-Latin@ writers and scholars.  Today, we feature Nuyorican writer and poet Piri Thomas. In a 1998 interview with In Motion Magazine, Piri Thomas said that he was inspired to begin writing when, as a child, he noticed that “The stories […]

Afro-Latin@ Writers and Scholars: Edwidge Danticat

[by Creighton N. Brown] Editor’s Note: In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15), the HBW Blog will be featuring short weekly posts on Afro-Latin@ writers and scholars.  Today, guest blogger Creighton N. Brown highlights Haitian-American author Edwidge Danticat. A few months ago, Americas Quarterly published “The Dominican Republic and Haiti: A Shared View from the Diaspora,” a conversation between Junot […]

Afro-Latin@ Writers and Scholars: Arturo Alfonso Schomburg

[by Meredith Wiggins] In honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month (September 15 – October 15), the HBW Blog will be featuring short weekly posts on Afro-Latin@ writers and scholars.  We begin our series with Arturo Alfonso Schomburg. When Arturo Alfonso Schomburg was a young boy attending school in Puerto Rico, one of his teachers told him and his classmates that people of African descent had […]