Professional Engagments

My presentations explore Hoodoo, African American spiritual traditions, and regional cultural history through the lenses of research, ancestral knowledge, cultural memory, and living practice. Programs can be adapted for university courses, public lectures, museums, libraries, heritage celebrations, conferences, and community education.

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1. Hoodoo in North Carolina: Recovering the State's Conjure History (Signature Talk)

North Carolina has a rich and complex African American history that deserves deeper exploration within broader conversations about Hoodoo and Southern conjure. This presentation examines the historical record, regional accounts, and research questions surrounding Hoodoo in North Carolina, considering how local histories, community knowledge, and historical documentation can contribute to a fuller understanding of the state's conjure traditions.

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2. Eastern North Carolina Hoodoo: Land, Water, Ancestry & Conjure (Signature Talk)

Rooted in a region shaped by rivers, coastal waterways, rural communities, and generations of African American life, this presentation explores Eastern North Carolina as a distinct setting for examining Hoodoo and conjure traditions. It considers the relationships among place, ancestry, regional history, family knowledge, and spiritual practice, while examining how geography and cultural memory can inform research into local traditions.

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3. Black Indigenous Histories & Hoodoo in North Carolina (Signature Talk)

This presentation explores questions at the intersections of Black history, Indigenous history, ancestry, identity, and regional spiritual traditions in North Carolina. Through historical inquiry and attention to the challenges of interpreting archival records, it examines how researchers can investigate these histories, consider the effects of racial classification, and distinguish documented evidence from assumptions about ancestry and cultural practice.

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4. Conjure Traditions of the Carolinas

This presentation examines conjure traditions across North and South Carolina, exploring regional histories, cultural continuities, and differences in the ways African American spiritual knowledge has been preserved and practiced. It offers an opportunity to consider the Carolinas as a region of historical inquiry rather than treating Southern conjure as a single, uniform tradition.

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5. Hoodoo Beyond the Myths: Reclaiming the History of a Black American Tradition

Hoodoo is frequently misunderstood, oversimplified, or represented through popular stereotypes. This presentation examines Hoodoo within its African American historical and cultural context, addressing common misconceptions and exploring the importance of historical understanding, community knowledge, and respect for the tradition's living practitioners.

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6. Customized Presentations, Workshops, or Lecture Series 

Request a customized presentations or workshops when an organization has a specific regional history, course, exhibition, or heritage initiative in mind.