IU School of Liberal Arts

African Burial Ground Project Director Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

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INDIANAPOLIS - A The College of William and Mary anthropology professor is the recipient of an inaugural lifetime award acknowledging his public scholarship.

Charles R. Bantz, chancellor of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) presented the Africana Studies Distinguished Public Scholar Lifetime Achievement Award to Michael L. Blakey, Ph.D., at the awards dinner for the 1st Public Scholars in Africana Studies International Conference on Globalization held recently at IUPUI.

The lifetime achievement award honors Blakey, the National Endowment for the Humanities Professor of Anthropology at William and Mary, for his scholarly work, particularly his 12-year role as scientific director of the New York African Burial Ground Project.

The awards ceremony, held Oct. 31, 2009, marked the end of a three-day international conference on globalization organized by Bessie House-Soremekun, Ph.D., an IUPUI professor of Africana studies, political science and entrepreneurship in the IU School of Liberal Arts.

"The creation of the Africana Studies Distinguished Public Scholar Lifetime Achievement Award represents our best efforts to recognize an individual who has created a body of scholarship through the years which is considered by his/her peers to be of the highest quality," House-Soremekun said.

The award recognizes individuals whose scholarly work has served as an important bridge between academia and the real world and whose work has been significant in helping to solve real world problems.

Blakey, also a professor of American studies at William and Mary, received a unanimous vote from the members of the subcommittee that evaluated the dossiers and portfolios of award nominees.

"We are delighted that a scholar with such impeccable credentials is the inaugural recipient of this award," House-Soremekun said. "Dr. Blakey’s career and all his achievements truly encapsulate what it means to be a public scholar."

Blakey received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Howard University, and earned his Master of Arts degree in 1980 and his Doctorate in Anthropology in 1985 at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst.  From 1985-2004, he taught and conducted research at Howard University.

The professor embodies the very notion of public scholarship, particularly with his work to move the New York African Burial Ground Project "from a national secret to a national monument," according to House-Soremekun.

Blakey’s methodical work as a bio-archaeologist was central to the Burial Ground Project, in terms of understanding the people, their lives, and where they came from. His 200-person team worked with the remains of more than 400 individuals and a million non-burial artifacts

Blakey arranged and participated in lab tours, site visits and community forums about the burial ground project. He gave numerous interviews and public lectures and appeared on CNN, BBC and countless other media outlets. He was a focal point in the PBS series broadcast in 1996.

About 575 people attended the three-day Public Scholars in Africana Studies conference at IUPUI. The theme of the conference was "Rethinking Economic Development in the Context of Globalization: Entrepreneurship, the Knowledge Economy, and Sustainable Development.

His Royal Majesty, Oba (King) Michael Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, Okukenu IV, Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Nigeria, was the keynote speaker for the awards dinner. Gbadebo discussed "The Changing Role of Nigeria in the 21st Century Knowledge Economy."

The conference, sponsored in part by the IU School of Liberal Arts at IUPUI, featured outstanding scholars from universities and colleges representing Africa, Europe, North America, and South America.

Published on: November 17, 2009