In Memoriam: Shani Mott, 1976-2024

Shani Tahir Mott, a lecturer in the department of history and Center for Africana Studies at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, passed away on March 12. She was 47 years old.

Dr. Mott first joined the faculty at Johns Hopkins University in 2008. In addition to teaching history and Africana studies, she conducted research on how mid-twentieth-century writers of both fiction and non-fiction strategically deployed racial language in American popular culture. She also served on numerous diversity, equity, and inclusion committees within the university, as well as projects that highlighted Black culture and representation.

Prior to her role with Johns Hopkins University, she served as a lecturer in the English department and director of the Africana Studies program at Barry University in Miami Shores, Florida, and earlier as a master teacher in liberal studies at New York University. She had a career in secondary school education, designing curricula focused on racial literacy and consulting on teaching and mentoring.

Dr. Mott was a graduate of Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, where she double-majored in African American studies and English. She received her Ph.D. in American culture from the University of Michigan.