Promoting Academic Excellence and Social Responsibility
About The Society of Black Archaeologists
Aaron Douglas, “An Idyll of the Deep South,” 1934
Our History
The Society of Black Archaeologists was created in 2011 with five goals in mind:
- To lobby on behalf and ensure the proper treatment of African and African Diaspora material culture
- To encourage more people of African descent to enter the field of archaeology
- To raise and address concerns related to African peoples worldwide
- To highlight the past and present achievements and contributions that people of African descent have made to the field of archaeology
- To ensure the communities affected by archaeological work act not just as objects of study or informants but are active makers and/or participants in the unearthing of their own history
Our Mission
The Society of Black Archaeologists (SBA) centers the histories and material cultures of global Black and African communities in archaeological research. By providing a strong network, mentorship, and educational access, the SBA works to resolve the ongoing systemic exclusion of Black and African scholars and communities from the field of archaeology. The SBA aims to provide avenues of engagement and training that will prepare Black and African scholars and communities to be active participants in the documentation, excavation, preservation, and interpretation of Black and African heritage.
Our Vision
The vision of the Society of Black Archaeologists (SBA) is to create a strong network of archaeologists that advocates to ensure the proper treatment of African and African diaspora material culture, promotes more people of African descent to enter the field of archaeology, ensures community collaborations, raises and addresses concerns related to African peoples worldwide, and highlights the past and present achievements and contributions people of African descent have made to the field of archaeology.
The Society of Black Archaeologists
Leadership
PRESIDENT
Alexandra Jones, PhD
Dr. Jones earned a PhD in Historical Archaeology from the University of California Berkeley in 2010. Her research focuses on African diaspora archaeology, community archaeology, and archaeology outreach. She has been an archaeology educator for more than 16 years focused on making archaeological knowledge accessible to all. Dr. Jones serves as the President for the Society of Black Archaeologists, the current President of the St. Croix Archaeological Society and she serves as the Chair for the US Cultural Property Advisory Committee for the United States appointed by President Biden.
PRESIDENT-ELECT
Alicia Odewale, PhD
Dr. Odewale earned her PhD from the University of Tulsa in 2016; becoming the first person of African descent to receive a doctorate in anthropology from TU and the first Black faculty member to join TU’s Department of Anthropology. As a professor of practice in the African American Studies department at the University of Houston and National Geographic Explorer, her work as an archaeologist, educator, and advocate centers around African Diaspora archaeology in the Caribbean and southeastern United States with a community-centered, restorative justice, anti-racist and Black feminist archaeology theoretical approach. She serves on the board of the Society for Historical Archaeology and the Nat Geo Oklahoma Advisory Council, President- Elect for the Society of Black Archaeologists, and leader of the non-profit organization, The Greenwood Diaspora Project.
TREASURER
Craig Stevens
Craig Stevens is an archeologist and curator. His work seeks to express anthropological and archaeological data through creative processes and immersive products. Through the use of 3D digitization and innovative curatorial strategies, Craig seeks to expose broad and diverse audiences to African and African Diasporic material culture. He is completing his doctoral research in the Anthropology Department at Northwestern University.
Secretary
Jordan Davis
Jordan Davis (he/his) is a second year MA student in Anthropology (Archaeology) at the University of South Carolina. His thesis research explores nineteenth century landscapes of marronage, forced removal, and African-Native American interaction in the southeastern United States, specifically Florida. Jordan has participated in archaeological projects in the United States, the Caribbean (Nevis), and in Senegal, West Africa. He joined the SBA in 2018.
Student representative
Rebecca Davis
Rebecca is a PhD candidate at UC Santa Cruz, and an archaeological technician at James Madison’s Montpelier plantation. Rebecca studies plantation landscapes in Caribbean and Mid-Atlantic contexts focusing on connecting oral histories to the physical landscape. She works with the Montpelier Descendant Committee (MDC) and is committed to community based archaeological research and investigation.
Chairman of the Board
Ayana Omilade Flewellen, PhD
Ayana Omilade Flewellen (they/she) is a Black Feminist, an archaeologist, a storyteller, and an artist. As a scholar of anthropology and African and African Diaspora Studies, Flewellen’s intellectual genealogy is shaped by critical theory rooted in Black feminist epistemology and pedagogy. This epistemological backdrop not only constructs the way she designs, conducts and produces her scholarship but acts as foundational to how she advocates for greater diversity within the field of archaeology and within the broader scope of academia. Flewellen is the co-founder and current President-Elect of the Society of Black Archaeologists and sits on the Board of Diving With A Purpose. She is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Stanford University. Her research and teaching interests address Black Feminist Theory, historical archaeology, maritime heritage conservation, public and community-engaged archaeology, processes of identity formations, and representations of slavery. Flewellen has been featured in National Geographic, Science Magazine and PBS; and regularly presents her work at institutions including The National Museum for Women in the Arts.
board member
Justin Dunnavant, PhD
Dr. Justin Dunnavant is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Anthropology at UCLA. His current research in the US Virgin Islands investigates the relationship between ecology and enslavement in the former Danish West Indies. In addition to his archaeological research, Justin is co-founder and President of the Society of Black Archaeologists and an AAUS Scientific SCUBA Diver. In 2021, he was named a National Geographic Emerging Explorer and inducted into The Explorers Club as one of “Fifty People Changing the World that You Need Know About.” He is also a member of the Board of Trustees of National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. His research has been featured on Netflix’s “Explained,” Hulu’s “Your Attention Please” and in print in American Archaeology and Science Magazine.
board member
Jay Haigler
Jay V. Haigler is an American Academy of Underwater Sciences (AAUS) scientific diving instructor, a Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) Master Scuba Diver Trainer, and Scuba Diving International (SDI) Open Water Instructor. Jay has over a dozen specialty instructor ratings including archaeology survey diver, coral reef conservation, and heritage awareness diving. A graduate of the Catholic University of America, with a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering, Jay loves the technical aspects of underwater archaeology. Jay received his initial open water scuba certification from renowned International Scuba Diving Hall of Fame inductee, Dr. Albert José Jones. Mr. Haigler is a current board member with AAUS and the Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology. He is a member of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Sanctuary Advisory Committee for the Mallows Bay-Potomac River National Marine Sanctuary located in the Washington, DC metropolitan area. Mr. Haigler is a founding board member of Diving With a Purpose. Diving With a Purpose (DWP) is a leading international non-profit organization that provides education and training programs, mission leadership, and project support services for submerged heritage preservation and conservation projects worldwide with a focus on the African Diaspora. Mr. Haigler is the author of numerous publications, speeches, and symposia presentations. He has been a contributing author with NOAA’s signature publication, The Earth Is Blue Magazine. He has published in academic journals such as, Advances in Archaeological Practices. Mr. Haigler along with Dr. Albert José Jones have lectured at Harvard University’s Museums of Science & Culture. and the History of Diving Museum.