*photo is of Dr. Mack along with his nephew Kai, daughter Amirah and wife Cindy. Taken May 5th 2012 courtesy of Mary Belcher.
I apologize for the untimeliness of this message but it took some time for me to collect my thoughts and emotions before I could sit down and write this email. It is with the utmost regret and sorrow that I must inform you all of the passing of Professor Mark E. Mack. As some of you may have already heard, Mack made his transition Friday night, May 11th, 2012 at Washington Hospital Center in Washington, DC. The previous day, after returning from submitting grades and having lunch with his graduating seniors, he was involved in a head-on automotive collision that resulted in severe brain trauma.
Before making his untimely transition, Mack was involved in a number of ventures including continued research of the W. Montague Cobb Collection and one of DC's largest African American cemeteries at the historic Walter C. Pierce Park. Additionally, he was in the process of developing courses in Nutritional Anthropology, Biological History of the African Diaspora, and The Biology of Inequality even as the University was making plans to cut the Anthropology program.
In life he championed for community-driven research and the proper treatment and respect for ancestral remains, stressing the need for an African American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act comparable to NAGPRA. As curator of Howard University's W. Montague Cobb Laboratory and instructor of Human Osteology, Forensic Anthropology, Biological Anthropology, and Biology and Culture since 1993, Mack trained a number of minority and first-generation students who would go on to become future anthropologists, medical doctors, and dentists.
Mack was steeped in a long tradition of scholars who gave themselves entirely to their teaching and family. Caring little for coveted degrees and honorary titles, he sacrificed his time and commitment away from his own PhD research to focus on teaching and community outreach. With a teaching career that spanned more than two decades, his classes and teaching methods were known for their intensity and rigor. He demanded the most from his students - at times dismissing the entire class when it was evident we had not committed ourselves to same level of academic conviction. Mack's passing is a realization of the evermore pressing need for us to continue to be diligent and dedicated in our scholarship.
I am proud to say that for me, and many other students, Mack was much more than an instructor. He was a mentor, friend, and the closest person I had to a father figure while still an undergraduate at Howard University. He personally reached into his pockets when financial difficulties befell me and my family and fostered my early intellectual growth as a young African American in the field of Anthropology.
He was one of the few instructors students respected for his commitment to education as well as the devotion he showed to his family. He instilled in us a dedication to thorough, ethical research and constantly reminded us that research is a selfless endeavor that should honor those who came before us and speak relevancy to the beautiful ones not yet born. His 2-year old daughter Amirah, nephew Kai, and wife Cindy will always have a place in our hearts and homes.
A funeral service will be held at Howard University's Rankin Chapel on Sunday, May 20. The viewing will be held from 1-2pm and the service will immediately follow. If anyone has memories or photos of Professor Mack to share, please forward them to us at sbarchaeologists@gmail.com and we will ensure that the family receives them.
Sincerely,
Justin Dunnavant
Society of Black Archaeologists
Before making his untimely transition, Mack was involved in a number of ventures including continued research of the W. Montague Cobb Collection and one of DC's largest African American cemeteries at the historic Walter C. Pierce Park. Additionally, he was in the process of developing courses in Nutritional Anthropology, Biological History of the African Diaspora, and The Biology of Inequality even as the University was making plans to cut the Anthropology program.
In life he championed for community-driven research and the proper treatment and respect for ancestral remains, stressing the need for an African American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act comparable to NAGPRA. As curator of Howard University's W. Montague Cobb Laboratory and instructor of Human Osteology, Forensic Anthropology, Biological Anthropology, and Biology and Culture since 1993, Mack trained a number of minority and first-generation students who would go on to become future anthropologists, medical doctors, and dentists.
Mack was steeped in a long tradition of scholars who gave themselves entirely to their teaching and family. Caring little for coveted degrees and honorary titles, he sacrificed his time and commitment away from his own PhD research to focus on teaching and community outreach. With a teaching career that spanned more than two decades, his classes and teaching methods were known for their intensity and rigor. He demanded the most from his students - at times dismissing the entire class when it was evident we had not committed ourselves to same level of academic conviction. Mack's passing is a realization of the evermore pressing need for us to continue to be diligent and dedicated in our scholarship.
I am proud to say that for me, and many other students, Mack was much more than an instructor. He was a mentor, friend, and the closest person I had to a father figure while still an undergraduate at Howard University. He personally reached into his pockets when financial difficulties befell me and my family and fostered my early intellectual growth as a young African American in the field of Anthropology.
He was one of the few instructors students respected for his commitment to education as well as the devotion he showed to his family. He instilled in us a dedication to thorough, ethical research and constantly reminded us that research is a selfless endeavor that should honor those who came before us and speak relevancy to the beautiful ones not yet born. His 2-year old daughter Amirah, nephew Kai, and wife Cindy will always have a place in our hearts and homes.
A funeral service will be held at Howard University's Rankin Chapel on Sunday, May 20. The viewing will be held from 1-2pm and the service will immediately follow. If anyone has memories or photos of Professor Mack to share, please forward them to us at sbarchaeologists@gmail.com and we will ensure that the family receives them.
Sincerely,
Justin Dunnavant
Society of Black Archaeologists
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