Bio
Dr. Msia Kibona Clark is an Associate Professor of African cultural & feminist studies in the Department of African Studies at Howard University.
She is originally from Tanzania and grew up in the U.S. (Cleveland, Ohio). She received her BA in Political Science from Johnson C. Smith University, MA in International Studies from American University, and a PhD in African Studies from Howard University.
Her work focuses on representations of Pan Africanism, African feminism, and African/Diaspora identities in popular culture. Her work examines hip-hop in Africa’s importance as social commentary, especially around Pan Africanism and African feminist thought. Her work also explores how Black mobilization is shifting African and Diaspora identities, and impacting Black activism. Her scholarship includes numerous articles and books, including the texts Hip-Hop in Africa: Prophets of the City & Dustyfoot Philosophers, Pan African Spaces: Essays on Black Transnationalism, and the forthcoming African Women in Digital Spaces: Redefining Social Movements on the Continent and in the Diaspora.
She also created & teaches the courses “Black Women & Popular Culture” and” Hip Hop & Social Change in Africa” at Howard University, where she is the Director of the Graduate Program in the Department of African Studies.
Msia was a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Dar es Salaam (2013/14) in the Department of Fine and Performing Arts. She is currently a member of the Board of Trustees for the Diaspora Community of Tanzanians in America (DICOTA), and sits on the Editorial Board of the journal, Global Hip Hop Studies. She is also a member of the Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) and the African Studies Association in Africa, and is an executive board member and past president of the Association of Social and Behavioral Scientists.
“Our feminism is not qualified by the “Buts , Ifs Or However” ..You are either a feminist or you are not.”
Dr. Sylvia Tamale
Msia Kibona Clark, PhD 