Dr. Howard Rambsy II
The grant represents more than just funding—it's a statement about the evolving landscape of humanities scholarship and where innovation can emerge. For SIUE Distinguished Research Professor Dr. Howard Rambsy II, who led the grant proposal, the award validates years of collaborative work that began when his institution wasn't even the primary home for the project.
"It's rare for an African American literary studies initiative at a regional university like ours to receive a grant of this scale," Rambsy said. "I'm especially pleased that the grant will be based at SIUE."
The project's journey illustrates how scholarly excellence can transcend institutional hierarchies. Rambsy originally served as co-principal investigator on the Black Lit Network's first phase, which was housed at the University of Kansas from 2021-2024 with an $800,000 Mellon grant. Despite being at a different institution, Rambsy led the writing of that initial proposal and worked closely with SIUE colleagues Dr. Elizabeth Cali and Dr. Margaret Smith to make substantial contributions.
"Mellon officials took notice of our work and recognized SIUE as a strong home for the next phase," Rambsy explained.
This recognition challenges conventional wisdom about where cutting-edge digital humanities work happens. The Mellon Foundation's decision to center the project at SIUE rather than a more traditionally prestigious institution signals a broader shift in how foundations view scholarly impact and institutional capacity.
The Black Lit Network itself represents an ambitious effort to democratize access to African American literary scholarship. The platform includes several innovative components: the Literary Navigator Device, which allows users to search across hundreds of works by Black writers; "Remarkable Receptions," a podcast exploring critical responses to African American literature; and the Literary Data Gallery, featuring digital storytelling and data visualizations.
