“Principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging are central to our mission as a Jesuit institution and connect us to a long Catholic tradition of advocating for the dignity and worth of every person.” The quote above came from an April 9, 2025 mailing from the Office of Multicultural Affairs at Fordham announcing Pre Commencement Celebrations for groups […]
Dr. Mark Naison
Mark Naison is Professor of History and African American Studies at Fordham University. He is the author of eight books and over 300 articles on African American politics, labor history, popular culture and education policy. The best known of his books, Communists in Harlem During the Depression published in 1983 is still in print and still utilized in college and graduate school courses
Dr. Naison is the founder of the Bronx African American History Project, one of the largest community based oral history projects in the nation and has brought his research into more than 30 Bronx schools as well as many Bronx based non profits and cultural centers. A co-founder of the Bronx Berlin Youth exchange, Naison’s articles about Bronx music and Bronx culture have been published in German, Spanish, Catalan, and Portuguese as well as English. In recent years he, has has published a novel, Pure Bronx, co-written with his former student Melissa Castillo-Garsow, a book of essays entitled Badass Teachers Unite and a collection of oral histories entitled Before the Fires, An Oral History of African American Life in the Bronx from the 1930’s to the 1960’s. which is one of the featured readings in a course he teaches at Fordham called "The Bronx: Immigration Race and Culture," His eighth book is an online text he wrote for his Rock and Roll to Hip Hop class, which can be accessed through this-- link https://research.library.fordham.edu/baahp_essays/
In addition to his teaching, Dr Naison leads tours of the Bronx for students and faculty at Fordham, as well as for groups of scholars and activists from around the nation and around the world. He also publishes a blog, which can be accessed at withabrookynaccent.blogspot.com, and has founded several Facebook groups, the most popular of which are the Badass Teachers Association and the National Anti-Racism AllIance. His course "From Rock and Roll To Hip Hop" was featured in the New York Post as one of the most popular courses in New York city in 2019.