CWGGL Research in Conversation Series Featuring: Anika Maaza Simpson, Ph.D.

CWGGL Research in Conversation Series

Join us for a provocative discussion on single Black motherhood that challenges everything we think we know about marriage. Featuring: Anika Maaza Simpson, Ph.D. Associate Professor and Chairperson, Department of Philosophy

Date: Wednesday, March 4, 2026
Time: 5:00–6:30 p.m.
Location: Founders Library, Browsing Room
Host: Center for Women, Gender, and Global Leadership (CWGGL)
In Partnership With: Department of Philosophy
RSVP: https://forms.gle/Pe5ah45RdFHs3AkE8

For more information, visit cwggl.howard.edu or follow @HUWomensCenter
 

In this CWGGL Research in Conversation book talk, Dr. Anika Maaza Simpson discusses her book, Single Black Mother, which critically examines how marriage has been framed as a social, moral, and policy solution to racial inequality. Drawing on queer theory and Black feminist thought, Simpson interrogates respectability politics, state power, and dominant family norms, asking how racial justice might be reimagined when marriage is no longer treated as an unquestioned good.

Anika Maaza Simpson, Ph.D., is Associate Professor of Philosophy and Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Howard University and Founding Director of Black Queer Everything, a Mellon Foundation–funded initiative that invests in the next generation of scholars, activists, and artists working toward Black liberation. A graduate of Spelman College, Dr. Simpson has dedicated the majority of her career to teaching and institution building at HBCUs. Her most recent book, Single Black Mother: Queer Reflections on Marriage and Racial Justice (Oxford University Press, 2025), deploys a queer Black feminist lens to examine marriage as a social, moral, and policy solution to racial inequality, illuminating the material, moral, and political forces that undermine the freedom of unmarried Black mothers. Grounded in Black feminist philosophy, queer theory, and the philosophy of gender, race, and sexuality, Dr. Simpson’s work reflects a sustained commitment to advancing racial justice, gender justice, and LGBTQ+ equity through scholarship, advocacy, and education.