Miriam DeCosta-Willis
Miriam DeCosta-Willis | |
|---|---|
| Born | Miriam Dolores DeCosta November 1, 1934 Florence, Alabama, U.S. |
| Died | January 7, 2021 (aged 86) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1957–1999 |
| Employer(s) | LeMoyne College Memphis State University Howard University George Mason University University of Maryland, Baltimore County |
| Known for | The first African-American faculty member at Memphis State University |
| Notable work | Blacks in Hispanic Literature: A Collection of Critical Essays (1977) Erotique Noire / Black Erotica (1992) The Memphis Diary of Ida B. Wells (1995) Daughters of the Diaspora: Afra-Hispanic Writers (2003) Notable Black Memphians (2008) Black Memphis Landmarks (2010) |
| Board member of | Du Bois Scholars Program |
| Spouse(s) | Russell Sugarmon 1952–1967 (div.) Archie Walter Willis Jr. 1972–1987 (his death) |
| Children | Tarik, Elena, Erika, Monique
|
Miriam DeCosta-Willis (November 1, 1934 – January 7, 2021) was an American educator, writer, and civil rights activist. The first African-American faculty member at Memphis State University, having previously been denied admission to the school as a graduate student due to her race, she spent her career as a professor of Romance languages and African-American studies at a variety of colleges in Memphis, Tennessee, and the Washington, D.C., area. From the 1960s, she was active in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She published more than a dozen books throughout her career, largely dealing with Afro-Latino literature and Black Memphis history.