The Department of Ethnic Studies UC Berkeley

Bio/Research Interests

Dr. Siri Brown recently returned to the African American Studies classroom after serving as the
Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs and Student Success for the Peralta Community College
District for over 4 years. As a passionate and committed educator for over 20 years. Dr. Brown
has been teaching African American and Ethnic Studies at the community college level and as a
part-time faculty at UC Berkeley in Ethnic Studies. 
She holds an M.A. in African American Studies and Ph.D. in U.S. History with an emphasis in
Early American, African American and U.S. Women’s history from The Ohio State University.  Her
research centers on the racialized legal and social resistance to violence against women. She is a
two-time Fulbright recipient of a research project on the African cultural heritage of Salvador
Bahia, Brazil (2012) where she focused on the role of African spirituality in the history of
resistance to slavery in that region, and South Africa (2019) where the focus of the project was
on post-apartheid resistance and justice movements.
At Merritt College, Dr. Brown served as Chair of Ethnic Studies and Social Sciences for 10 years. 
As Chair, she developed an annual study abroad program for underserved African American
students at Merritt and has taken hundreds of students to Jamaica, Ghana, Cuba, and more to
learn about the history and culture of the countries and globalize their understanding of the Black
world.  To expand in-depth learning experiences, Dr. Brown also established two Africana Studies
Centers at Merritt College and McClymonds High School which hold an original digital and
interactive curriculum on African and African American History that is bilingual and exceeds
district ADA requirements.
Most importantly, Dr. Brown is the great great granddaughter of Lula Glaspie Chatham of
Carthage Texas a skilled midwife who defied racial and gender lines by traveling through the
region assisting in the births and healing of both Black and white patrons.  Dr. Brown comes from
a long strong family line who believe in fighting for justice and building projects and institutions
that express a deep love for Black people.  Dr. Brown is also a mother of two sons who are
recent graduates of Hampton and Howard Universities.

Awards & Honors

Courses Taught

ES 21AC- A comparative Survey or Racial and Ethnic Groups in the US, ES 150ACO People of Mixed Race Heritage