Russell J. Rickford facts for kids

Russell John Rickford (born around 1975) is an American scholar and activist. He is a professor in the History Department at Cornell University. He wrote the only detailed book about Betty Shabazz, who was the wife of Malcolm X.

Rickford's studies focus on the history of Black activism and culture after World War II. He teaches about American social and political history.

Early Life and School

Growing Up in Guyana and California

Russell Rickford was born in Guyana, a country in South America. He grew up in Palo Alto, California. His mother, Angela E. Rickford, is a professor who teaches about Special Education. She wrote a book about teaching reading to African American students.

His father, John R. Rickford, is an expert on African-American Vernacular English. This is a unique way of speaking English used by many African Americans. His father has written many books and articles and teaches linguistics at Stanford University.

High School and College Years

Rickford went to Gunn High School in Palo Alto. He won a special scholarship called the National Merit Scholarship.

He then studied journalism at Howard University in Washington, D.C.. While there, he was the president of a fraternity called Alpha Phi Alpha for two years. He also wrote for the school newspaper, The Hilltop. Rickford finished his bachelor's degree with high honors in 1997.

Career and Writings

Starting as a Reporter

Rickford started his career as a reporter for The Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper. After that, he worked for a company that helps manage public relations in Philadelphia.

Writing About Black History

In 1998, Rickford began researching for his book about Betty Shabazz. In 2000, he and his father wrote a book together called Spoken Soul: The Story of Black English. This book was about African-American Vernacular English. It won an award called the American Book Award. The name "Spoken Soul" shows how rhythmic and poetic this way of speaking English can be.

In 2001, Rickford left his job in Philadelphia. He moved into his parents' garage to focus on writing the first detailed book about Betty Shabazz. It took him five and a half years to write. The book, Betty Shabazz: A Remarkable Story of Survival and Faith Before and After Malcolm X, was published in 2003. A writer named William Jelani Cobb called it "a thorough, insightful and engaging book."

Becoming a Professor

In 2002, Rickford started studying at Columbia University. He pursued a master's degree in African-American studies. From 2003 to 2004, he helped with a project about Malcolm X. His mentor, Manning Marable, said Rickford helped set up many interviews with people who knew Malcolm X.

Rickford finished his doctorate degree in history at Columbia in 2009. His research looked at African-American politics after the Civil Rights Movement. He wanted to understand why Black nationalism became more conservative later in the 20th century.

Rickford joined the faculty at Dartmouth College in 2009. He then moved to Cornell in 2014. In 2016, Rickford finished another history book. It was about private schools that focused on Pan-Africanism during the Black Power era. The book is called We Are an African People: Independent Education, Black Power, and the Radical Imagination.

Personal Life

Russell Rickford met his wife through Manning Marable. They were both working as research assistants for the Malcolm X Project at the time.