Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.

Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.
--Maya Angelou

Greetings
I am Rashidah Jaami' Muhammad, Professor of English and Secondary Education at Governors State University (GSU). I am also the Academic Coordinator for both the BA and MA Programs in English. Additionally, I serve as Co-Director of the Teacher Quality Enhancement Program at GSU.

At GSU I teach graduate, undergraduate, and teacher education studernts; courses in African American, American, and Young Adult literature. I also teach courses in African American English, Studies in Race, Class, and Gender, and Third World Humanities.

I received my doctorate in English from Michigan State University.