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Tara G. Cunningham
Director of Communications
tcunningham@dillard.edu
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NEW ORLEANS, LA – Dillard University proudly announces Dr. Malinda Maynor Lowery, Professor of American History at Emory University, as its Mellon Fellow for the Ray Charles Program in African American Material Culture. Supported by a generous grant from the Mellon Foundation, Dr. Lowery’s research will focus on the contributions of Indigenous Southern foodways to American culture, culminating in a series of articles and a short documentary series.
A historian and documentary filmmaker, Dr. Lowery is a member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina. She joined Emory University in 2021 as the Cahoon Family Professor of American History after serving at UNC-Chapel Hill for 12 years and Harvard University for four years. She is the author of The Lumbee Indians: An American Struggle (2018) and Lumbee Indians in the Jim Crow South: Race, Identity, and the Making of a Nation (2010), the latter of which won multiple awards, including Best First Book in Native American and Indigenous Studies.
Dr. Lowery has published over 20 book chapters and articles on topics such as American Indian migration and identity, school desegregation, federal recognition, religious music, and foodways. Her essays have appeared in The New York Times, Oxford American, and Daily Yonder. She has received fellowships and grants from the Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Sundance Institute, and the Ford Foundation.
As a filmmaker, Dr. Lowery has produced several acclaimed projects, including the Peabody Award-winning A Chef’s Life (PBS, 2013–2018), Somewhere South (PBS, 2020), Road to Race Day (Crackle, 2020), and the Emmy-nominated Private Violence (HBO, 2014). Her earlier works, Real Indian (1996) and Sounds of Faith (1997), premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. She is currently working on essays exploring the shared history of Black and Indigenous Americans and a media project on humor and racial stereotypes in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution.
“Dr. Malinda Maynor Lowery, foremost Native American scholar in the South, will shed light on the contributions made by Native Americans to southern foodways, particularly in the Carolinas.” said Zella Palmer, Chair, Ray Charles Program. “We must learn more about Indigenous foodways to understand American history and culture.”
Dillard University is honored to welcome Dr. Lowery and looks forward to the impact of her research on Indigenous food traditions and their influence on American culture.
About the Ray Charles Program in African American Material Culture
The mission of the Dillard University Ray Charles Program in African American Material Culture is to research, document, disseminate, preserve, and celebrate African American culture and foodways in the South. New Orleans sits at the historical and cultural intersection of diverse groups with distinct and recognizable pasts. This program aims to understand how African, Caribbean, European, and American cultures coalesced to create a culture that is uniquely African American. The Ray Charles Program takes a deeper look at how African American culture is portrayed and taught in an effort to not only preserve that culture, but allow our students to take ownership of it as well. For more information visit the Ray Charles Program in African American Material Culture.
About Dillard University
Dillard University is a historically Black institution that cultivates leaders who live ethically, think and communicate precisely, and act courageously to make the world a better place. Located in New Orleans, Dillard is a private faith-based liberal arts university that offers 22 majors and two certificate programs. Ranked 5th on 2021 The New York Times Overall Mobility Index and 14th in 2022 by Academic Influence for Best Colleges and Universities by Academic Stewardship, Dillard’s call to future leaders is to Write Your Legacy. Find out more about Louisiana’s oldest HBCU by visiting www.dillard.edu.