Biography: I have been at the University of Hartford for three decades. My primary interests as a teacher/scholar/writer are critical approaches to white racism and racial ideology. The most memorable moments in my career are both linked to AHS: serving as President (Memphis—1999) and being selected as the 2019 recipient of the 2019 AHS Distinguished Service Award.
Reflexive Statement: As an active AHS member for the past three decades, I am honored to serve my colleagues as Treasurer. Throughout my career, AHS has been my sociological home—a beacon pointing in the direction that sociology ought to go. AHS and its members believe in a value-oriented sociology where sociological research and insight are used in the pursuit of social justice and improving the human condition. We value a “sociology that matters”—engaged teaching, social activism, public advocacy, and scholarship that contributes to radical social change. I have always found AHS to be a breath of fresh air in a discipline too often shaped by academic careerism and a status system that distorts the transformational potential of sociology. In a world where corporatism and the demands of neoliberal capitalism are overwhelming higher education, AHS is more necessary than ever.
I have attended every AHS conference for the past thirty years. Each one has been memorable in its own way. I value the sense of community and supportive environment, as well as the focus upon engagement with the local community. The past three conferences—Havana (2017), Detroit (2018), and El Paso (2019)—have been particularly memorable in terms of local connections.