Geneva Smitherman
Geneva Smitherman is a University Distinguished Professor Emerita of English and co-founder of the African American and African Studies doctoral program at Michigan State University. Smitherman co-founded the Malcolm X Academy within Detroit Public Schools, the first public African-centered elementary school in the country.
The oldest of seven children, Smitherman started her education in a one-room schoolhouse. She graduated from Detroit’s Cass Technical High School and earned a B.A. and M.A. in English and Latin from Wayne State University and a PhD in English, with a specialization in sociolinguistics and education, from the University of Michigan.
Smitherman’s book, Talkin and Testifyin: The Language of Black America, published in 1977, contributed to shifting public and academic perspectives towards the value of African-American Vernacular English. This work has been widely referenced by teachers, legal scholars, sociologists, and policy analysts.