Dr. Sandra Jowers-Barber is a historian and professor at the University of the District of Columbia Community College (UDC-CC), specializing in African American history, gender, disability, and the African American Deaf community. She co-chairs the 51 Steps to Freedom Project, serves as a founding board member of the Center for Black Deaf Studies at Gallaudet University, and researches oral history and qualitative methodologies, with ongoing work on Signing in Black: The Narratives of African American ASL Interpreters.
Experience
Education
Doctor of Philosophy in History, Disability, & Gender, Howard University Master of Arts in Public History: Oral History, Howard University Bachelor of Arts in English, Journalism Minor, Howard University
Roles
Co-Chair, Historian Advisory Committee, 51 Steps to Freedom Project, 2024-Present Founding Board Member, Center for Black Deaf Studies, Gallaudet University, 2019-Present Chair, History Program, UDC, 2012-14
Courses Taught
History of Women in the World History of DC US History to 1865 US History Since 1865 History of Black America I History of Black America II
Expertise
Host UDC forum cable TV station Conducted oral histories of faculty for celebrating 150 years of UDC
Research Focus / Works in Progress
Incorporating the history of the African American deaf community into the African American historical narrative
Leadership
Co-Chair, Historian Advisory Committee, 51 Steps to Freedom Project, 2024-Present Scholar and Research Team Member, Council of American Overseas Research Centers, 2024 Member and Former Secretary, Association of Black Women Historians, 2019-Present Historian and Member, Historic Preservation Board of Washington, D.C., 2020-23
Impact
Selected Publications
Jowers, S. (2023). Leadership at the community college. In S. Evans, S. Shonekan, & S. Adams (Eds.), Dear department chair: Letters from black women leaders to the next generation. Wayne State Press.
Jowers, S. (2023). The struggle to educate black deaf schoolchildren in Washington, D.C., In B. H. Greenwald & J. V. Van Cleve (Eds.), A fair chance in the race of life: The role of Gallaudet University in deaf history. Gallaudet University Press.
Selected Presentations
Jowers, S. (2024). Exploring black deaf history through theater: Visionaries of the creative arts and the center for black deaf studies at Gallaudet University.D. C. History Conference, Washington, D.C.
Jowers, S. (2023). Perspectives from deaf studies and black/Africana studies. Black Deaf Symposium, Gallaudet University, Washington, D.C.
Recognitions
Fellow, Council of American Overseas Research Centers, 2024 Recipient, MPD Chief of Police Special Award, 2019 Recipient, National Black Deaf Advocates Bridge Builders Award, 2016
