During the month of March, we take time to recognize the many triumphs and accomplishments of women throughout our history through Women’s History Month celebrations. Women have made massive strides in the past 100 years alone, earning their right to vote in 1920 and expanding their rights surrounding employment, reproductive decisions and gender-based discrimination through a series of laws passed in the 1960s and 70s.
The history of women in the United States is one that has seen its share of both success and struggle, the latter presenting an even more difficult journey for those from minority racial or ethnic backgrounds, who often faced the double-edged sword of racism and sexism. Our Access Torch for the month of March, Gloria J. Ashaolu, is a scholar at Michigan State whose work focuses on African American History. Within this, she also researches Black women’s intellectual history, History of Education and Race, and the anti-racist pedagogy and praxis of Black female teachers during the Jim Crow era of segregation.
Ashaolu is a doctoral candidate in the Department of History, as well as a National Academy of Education (NAEd)/Spencer Dissertation Fellow. Ashaolu earned degrees in History and African American and African Diaspora Studies at UC Berkeley with a minor certificate from the School of Education. She considers her academic experiences while at UC Berkeley to be ‘life-changing’ in the role that they played in her intellectual growth and development. She joined her first research team during her freshman year and became a member of the VeVe A. Clark Institute for Engaged Scholars, a program that further developed her research skills and ability to place real-life experiences within the context of her research interests.
Ashaolu was able to dive into independent research for the first time through the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship, a program that helps prepare minoritized students for the professoriate. “This was work that I was able to continue into the summers after my second and third year when I was recruited to Michigan State for the Summer Research Opportunities Program (SROP) to work with Drs. Pero Dagbovie and Terah Chambers,” she explained.
The SROP was Ashaolu’s first introduction to MSU, and it was through Dagbovie, a University Distinguished Professor in the Department of History and Dean of the Graduate School, that she was encouraged to apply for the history PhD program. She is now in the fifth year of her doctoral candidacy.
Ashaolu is passionate about a variety of topics within the Early Black History Movement, the History of Education and Race, and late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries Black women’s intellectual history. “Through my commitment to research, teaching, and service, I aspire to create meaningful historical work that helps us better understand the present through our collective history and move towards a just and inclusive society,” she said. Her dissertation focuses on the educational activism, teaching methods and practices of Black teachers during the Early Black History Movement. These individuals and their model of educational vision challenged the beliefs, politics, and policies under Jim Crow segregation and were very influential on what we now consider to be anti-racist systems of knowledge and educational practices.
“Driven by what groundbreaking educator, author, and intellectual Anna Julia Cooper referred to as the ‘moral forces of reason and justice and love,’ these educators inspired Civil Rights Movement participants, Black Power Movement activists, and Black studies revolutionaries,” she said.
Michigan State has given Ashaolu the chance to continue her research while earning her PhD and is grateful for professors like Dagbovie and fellow history faculty member Dr. LaShawn Harris for providing their mentorship and guidance throughout her journey. This past academic year, as a Leadership Development fellow in the Graduate School Office of Well-Being (GROW), she created the In Joy! initiative, a celebratory graduate gala which honored the hard work and accomplishments of graduate and professional students. The event was inspired by a commitment to (re)center joy, an accelerant of healing, and a marker of well-being in graduate education, through the gifts of gratitude, community, and a multicultural celebration. The event provided students with resources and connections within the MSU community while offering a space for togetherness and conversation with other graduate and professional students across campus.
“I love that MSU has been a space where one can nurture aspirational dreams and purpose-driven goals to meet the needs of our campus community, and find the support and resources to materialize them,” she said.
Ashaolu describes teaching as a “passion driven, care-centric, and an excellence-motivated labor of love.” She considers this role to be multi-faceted, both a civic responsibility and one that is a sacred duty.
“Through teaching, research, and service, I am committed to spurring change and progress, while inspiring my students to do the same,” she added.
Her goals as an educator are also layered: she hopes to always promote student success and the joys of learning, nurture personal growth, foster curiosity for the importance of history, and inspire an awareness of our responsibility as makers of history. She believes one of the values of the study of history in particular lies in the opportunity that it presents to empower and equip students with the skills needed to critically engage with the wealth of information that they encounter daily.
When asked about the reason behind her passion for Black women’s history and Black educators, she points to the valuable lessons these women who fought against the racism of the Jim Crow era can offer us. They each have their own stories of inspiration and hope which began as daring ambitions.
“The love and care they poured into the lives of their students had rippling effects and were forged in the daring possibilities of a better future,” she said. “Their history is evidence of the transformative effectiveness of consistency and resilience. Their story is inspiring. My steadfast commitment to making a difference is rooted in my convictions in the necessity, joys, and beauty of an inclusive and equitable society.”
Ashaolu offered a unique perspective on the importance of amplifying women’s voices worldwide, particularly those from marginalized backgrounds who may need extra support, and the opportunity we have to highlight these individuals throughout Women’s History Month.
“It ensures that the diverse experiences, insights, and perspectives of women—- who make up approximately 50 percent of the global population—- are represented. It also ensures that issues that disproportionately affect women from marginalized backgrounds are effectively and meaningfully addressed.”
Honorees’ views are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the College of Social Science.