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Born August 14, 1938, in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Died May 31, 2019, in Fort Lauderdale, FL
Niara Sudarkasa was the first woman president of Lincoln University, the nation’s oldest Black college and a formerly all-male institution. A graduate of Oberlin College, she earned advanced degrees in anthropology from Columbia University. Prior to her appointment at Lincoln in 1987, she was the first Black professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Michigan. There, she led a movement of Black students and academics who protested institutional racism. As a result of their efforts, the University of Michigan created more academic and financial support for minority students and established a Black studies program.