African American Studies

Dr. Brittney Yancy is a professor of 20th-century U.S. History with a focus on social movements, urban radicalism, critical race theory, women's activism, and black women's political and intellectual history. Dr. Yancy has published with Oxford University Press and Greenwood Press, and her research has been supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities, Harvard University's Schlesinger Library Grant, Andrew W. Mellow Foundation, Social Science Research Council, the National Council of Black Studies, and the Connecticut Humanities. Her recent work is a digital archive project, The Work Must Be Done, in partnership with the Connecticut Historical Society. This project, funded by the CT Humanities and the League of Women Voters, highlights women of color in Connecticut who advanced voting rights. Her honors include being selected as one of the 100 Women of Color in Hartford, the UConn Women of Color Award, and a host of awards from the National Council of Black Studies and the University of Connecticut. 

Dr. Yancy is an intersectional scholar-activist and is committed to fighting for a gender-inclusive movement for racial justice. In 2018, she was appointed as the Greater Hartford Ambassador to the United State of Women, and recently chaired the state-wide summit on gender equity, Galvanize Connecticut. In 2019, Professor Yancy was appointed to the Board of Connecticut's State Education Resource Center and serves on the steering committees for Connecticut's Social Studies Standards Project and the Governor's Council on Women and Girls. She also serves on the boards of the Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame and the Association for the Study of Connecticut History. 

Dr. Yancy is also a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., celebrating 20 years of service, and is a proud member of several community-based social justice organizations.