“History is not everything, but it is a starting point.”
- John Henrik Clarke
Museums and libraries give life.
And they are my life. I am a library and museum practitioner with twenty years experience in leading museums, libraries, and educational initiatives with forward-facing vision. As a public historian, I study late 19th and early 20th century African American history with an interdisciplinary specialization in educational history.
My research interests include Black women’s intellectual history, history of African American higher education, race relations during the Jim Crow era, and the civil rights struggle in the North.
My academic and professional pursuits are centered on the notion that Black history is American history and it enriches the lives of all.
Latest Media Project
DeBardelaben Discusses Nat Turner on C-SPAN
LaNesha DeBardelaben gives opening reflections on the life of Nat Turner in a conversation with Turner’s great-great-great grandson, Bruce Turner. View HERE.
Latest Writing Project
DeBardelaben reflects on the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
LaNesha DeBardelaben’s recent op ed 60 years of progress, and our unfinished journey toward justice appeared in the Seattle Times. Read it HERE.