Reading African American Experiences in the Obama Era

Ebony Elizabeth Thomas is assistant professor of reading, language, and literature in the division of Teacher Education at Wayne State University. She has published her work in English Journal, The ALAN Review, and Sankofa: A Journal of African Children¿s and Young Adult Literature, as well as the books A Narrative Compass: Stories That Guide Women¿s Lives and The Pressures of Teaching. She is an alumna of Florida A&M University, Wayne State University, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Shanesha R. F. Brooks-Tatum is postdoctoral research and instruction fellow at the Atlanta University Center Robert W. Woodruff Library. She has published works on Christian hip-hop, spoken-word poetry, and Black popular culture, and is an alumna of the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.