The Art of War
Conflict and the African American Philosophy
Presenter Biographies
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2
Things They Carried: An African Philosophy on War, Surviving Enslavement and Citizenship
Tony Van Der Meer, PhD, is a Senior Lecturer III in the Africana Studies Department at the University of Massachusetts Boston. He is a scholar-practitioner rooted in leadership and change praxis, liberatory pedagogies, and African indigenous spiritual knowledge systems. His research interests include Ifá spiritual practice and healing in the Diaspora, Black activist movements, and leadership development.
Grant E. Stanton, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of History and Africana Studies at Drew University. Grant’s research interests range widely across the landscape of early American (pre-1865) and Atlantic history, focusing on the contributions Black actors made to creating the modern world. Grant’s book manuscript studies the birth of formal Black politics in the American Revolution, including the central role Black colonists in Massachusetts played in leading the first organized, interracial, and successful abolition movement in American history. Outside of this project, Grant is also investigating the establishment, politicization, demise, and revival of Black education programs in early America, and a third project that uses insults as an entry point for understanding the enfolded racial, sexual, classist, and religious prejudices that structured early American moral culture.
Akeia de Barros Gomes, PhD (moderator), is the Center for Black History Director at the Newport Historical Society and an Adjunct Lecturer at the Simmons Center for the Study of Slavery and Justice at Brown University. Akeia works on curatorial projects on race, Indigenous histories, ethnicity, and diversity in New England's Maritime activities. She is lead curator for the 2024 Mystic Seaport exhibition, Entwined: The Sea, Sovereignty and Freedom, a multi-year Mellon Foundation-funded project that reimagines the history of the founding and development of New England through Indigenous, African, and African American maritime narratives. Dr. de Barros Gomes has engaged in archaeological fieldwork on the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Reservation in Mashantucket, CT, in the US Virgin Islands and Newport, RI. She has been involved in anthropological fieldwork in the US Virgin Islands, Benin, and New Orleans. Akeia was a professor of American Studies and Psychology and Human Development at Wheelock College from 2008 to 2017. And Curator of Social History at the New Bedford Whaling Museum from 2017 to 2021. She holds a PhD in Anthropology with a focus in Archaeology from The University of Connecticut.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 9
Hopes and Impediments: War and Strategies for Belonging
Glenn A. Knoblock is an independent scholar and author of over twenty books. Knoblock has served as the principal military contributor to Harvard and Oxford University's landmark African American National Biography and has also written for the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. His work documents a wide variety of African American history at the New Hampshire, New England, and national level, including Strong and Brave Fellows, a book about New Hampshire's Black soldiers of the American Revolution; African American cemeteries and burial grounds of New England; Black Submariners in the U.S. Navy, 1940-1975; African American casualties and medal recipients in the Navy, Coast Guard, and Merchant Marine during World War II, and a children's book, Fighting For Freedom (written with his wife Teresa Knoblock), which recounts the true-life story of an enslaved African American who fought for his freedom in the American Revolution. He holds a B.A. in History from Bowling Green State University.
Bob Sheppard is a former broadcast journalist and the son of Master Sgt James A. Sheppard, a member of the Tuskegee Airmen during World War II. Bob is known for his work preserving history and educating others about the contributions of African Americans to aviation. He has shared his father's story through a documentary film, presentations, and other events. During his time in the service, Bob's father experienced segregation on the train ride to Alabama, training at the Tuskegee Institute, and service overseas with the 332nd Fighter Squadron. After returning from Italy, Bob's father worked for Lockheed Aircraft and the Federal Aviation Administration before moving to Maine in the 1970s.
Mack Scott (moderator) is a Visiting Assistant Professor of Slavery and Justice at Brown University. A historian and educator, he is a member of the Narragansett Indian Tribe. His work focuses on the intersections of race and identity. It employs agency as a lens through which to view and understand traditionally marginalized peoples' voices, stories, and perspectives. He has published works illuminating the experiences of African American, Native American, and Latinx peoples. He is working on a project that traces the Narragansett nation from pre-colonial to modern.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 16
The Great Migration: Military Service and the Shaping of a Diversified New Hampshire
Timothy Berry is a West Point graduate who served as class president, former Army captain, Tillman Scholar, and writer whose work explores the intersection of Black military service, institutional transformation, and personal becoming. Timothy brings unique insight to discussions of war, citizenship, and belonging. His essays on Black patriotism and military service have appeared in USA Today, and his future writings will examine how to navigate complex institutions while maintaining authentic selfhood. Today, Timothy leads strategic initiatives at Google, managing global policy implementation and crisis response across financial services and election advertising. For speaking engagements, writing projects, and other opportunities, Timothy can be reached at t.t.august89@gmail.com or through LinkedIn.
Andrea Williamson, a financial advisor for Edward Jones in Kennebunk, Maine, spent seven years at the Pentagon and in the United States Air Force European Joint Command and 15 years with Allstate Insurance before joining Edward Jones. Williamson is an inclusion leader working to increase race and gender diversity among financial advisors. She was awarded an executive education scholarship from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, where she attended the practical innovators' course.
Leah Dearborn was appointed assistant director of the Aviation Museum in Manchester, NH, in June of 2021 and was promoted to associate director in April 2024. She holds a B.A. in journalism from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and in 2019, earned a Master’s degree in International Relations from the University of Massachusetts Boson, McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies. Dearborn also earned a certificate in Modern Media from Yale University in 2017. Her professional background includes working as a reporter and newspaper editor. Her stories have appeared in publications around New England, including in the Boston Globe. Dearborn is the author of Grenier Field: A Beacon on the Home Front (2024) and frequently speaks on “The Black Experience at Grenier.”
Sharon Tarleton (moderator) serves as the Program Manager within the University of New Hampshire's Office of Community, Equity and Diversity (OCED). Sharon holds a MPA from UNH, as well as a B.A. in psychology and sociology. In addition, Sharon is currently pursuing a J.D. at UNH's Franklin Pierce School of Law. Professionally, Sharon has spent most of her career in social services and education, working in local non-profit organizations, K-12 schools, and institutions of higher education. A 2020 graduate of Leadership Seacoast, Sharon also regularly looks for ways to learn more about and give back to the community she has called home for most of her life. Sharon is particularly interested in the theme of this year's EWH Tea Talks given her familial ties to various branches of the United States military including the Navy, Army, and Air Force. The daughter of a retired chief petty officer/shipyard worker, and a retired career civil servant/amateur genealogist, the topic of this talk seems especially apropos.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23
Eyes on the Prize: Protests, Movements, and the Road Ahead
Noelle N. Trent is president and CEO of the Museum of African American History Boston/Nantucket. Dr. Trent earned a Master's in Public History and a Ph.D. in United States History from Howard University in Washington, DC. She has worked with noted organizations and projects, including the National Park Service, the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, where she contributed to the exhibition Defending Freedom, Defining Freedom: The Era of Segregation 1876 – 1968. She was the Director of Interpretation, Collections & Education at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis before coming to Boston. Trent has contributed to the African American Intellectual History Society’s blog and was featured in “Breaking Free: An Underground Special” for the WGN America drama Underground.
L’Merchie Frazier is a Boston-based visual artist, performing artist, educator, consultant, activist, and philanthropist. She creates evocative fiber and metal sculptures through her visual artwork, innovative mixed media installations, stunning hand-crafted beaded jewelry, and a powerful quilt series, “The Quilted Chronicles.” Her work has been exhibited at numerous institutions, including the University of Vermont, the American Museum of Art and Design New York, and the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, DC.
Richard Josey is the Founder and Principal Consultant for Collective Journeys LLC, where he leads transformative work in equity, inclusion, and public history. With over 30 years of experience, Richard has worked alongside museums and historical sites nationwide, guiding them to becoming places of connection, healing, and deeper understanding. His impact has helped institutions reimagine how history can be shared, fostering spaces that address trauma and build stronger, more inclusive communities.
Jason Sokol (moderator) is a professor of History at the University of New Hampshire. His work focuses on the history of the Civil Rights Movement. He is the author of three books: There Goes My Everything: White Southerners in the Age of Civil Rights (Alfred A. Knopf), which was named one of the ten best books of 2006 in the Washington Post Book World; All Eyes Are Upon Us: Race and Politics from Boston to Brooklyn (Basic Books, 2014); and The Heavens Might Crack: The Death and Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Basic Books, 2018). Sokol graduated from Oberlin College and received his doctorate in history from the University of California, Berkeley. He received post-doctoral fellowships from Harvard University, the University of Pennsylvania, and Cornell University. He was also awarded a Public Scholar grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. Dr. Sokol has published articles in various scholarly journals and popular publications, including The New York Times, The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Politico, and The Root.