Dr. Chinua Akimaro Thelwell has always found college classrooms to be one of the “few spaces in American society where people could have honest and informed conversations around race and racism.”
When entering the higher education space as a professor, Thelwell wanted to incorporate those ideas and conversations into his teaching.
At William & Mary (W&M), some of his research focuses on Afro-diasporic history, Asian American history and the history of the idea of race.
“Many Black and Asian students who I have taught have not had opportunities to study their own history,” says Thelwell, associate professor of history and Africana studies at W&M. “So, what I do is take these marginalized histories and I recirculate them in ways that are empowering to those students. But also empowering for all students.”
Thelwell also teaches the “History of Hip-Hop,” in tribute to his childhood identity and fascination. Growing up, he was surrounded by friends who listened to rap music and were interested in hip-hop culture.
Seeing his passion and wanting to encourage reading outside of school, Thelwell’s mother gifted him books on hip-hop every birthday and Christmas. Through that, he developed more knowledge of hip-hop culture.
Coming into academia, Thelwell was asked what types of curriculum he was looking to build. His pitched a hip-hop course, which intrigued his colleagues.
