I am a proud Cape Verdean-American woman, tenured Associate Professor of History, and Chair of the Department of Humanities at the oldest Historically Black University in South Carolina. I was born and raised in southeastern Massachusetts, where Cape Verdean culture thrives today. My Mother is a former seamstress. She learned her trade from her Father and brothers, who were tailors both in Cabo Verde and the United States. My Mother’s stories of her seamstress business in Cabo Verde before migrating to the United States in the early 1970s, a few years before I was born, fostered my interest in clothing. My Father is a retired Army officer and art teacher. My parents’ influence and love for art and fashion led me to the history of textiles. My path was not a straight arrow.

After graduating from the University of Massachusetts with a dual degree in Africana Studies and History, I moved to South Carolina to pursue my Master’s and Doctorate degrees in history from the University of South Carolina, Columbia. In 2005, I began to study the history of African American women who labored in the Southern textile industry. I have since led courses, given over a hundred lectures, earned grants, and created major writing projects dedicated to this history.