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, Howard University Master of Arts in Public History and Oral History, Howard University Bachelor of Arts in English, Journalism Minor, Howard University
Roles
Division Director, Humanities and Criminology, 2015-Present Chair, History Program, UDC. 2012-2014
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 to celebrate 150 years of UDC
Research Focus / Works in Progress
Researching and documenting the history of the Black Deaf Community; Career or Calling: Oral Histories of American Sign Language Interpreters of Color
Leadership
Chair, Historian Advisory Committee, 51 Steps to Freedom Project, 2024-Present; Founding Board Member, Center for Black Deaf Studies, Gallaudet University, 2019-Present Scholar and Research Team Member, Council of American Overseas Research Centers, 2024 Historian 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. (2025). V.O.C.A. (Visionaries for the Creative Arts): Adding New Voices and Stories from the Deaf Community. Celebrating 20 Years: August Wilson’s Legacy and The Confluence of Voices in Literary and Cultural Expression, Pittsburgh, PA.
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
