Kellie Cherie Carter Jackson, PhD

Kellie Carter Jackson is a 19th century historian in the Department of Africana Studies. Her new book, Force & Freedom: Black Abolitionists and the Politics of Violence (University of Pennsylvania Press), examines the conditions that led some black abolitionists to believe slavery might only be abolished by violent force.

Carter Jackson is co-editor of Reconsidering Roots: Race, Politics, & Memory (Athens: University of Georgia Press). With a forward written by Henry Louis Gates Jr., Reconsidering Roots is the first scholarly collection of essays devoted entirely to understanding the remarkable tenacity of the film’s visual, cultural, and political influence on American history. Carter Jackson and Erica Ball have also edited a Special Issue on the 40th Anniversary of Roots for Transition Magazine (Issue 122}. Carter Jackson was also featured in the History Channel's documentary, “Roots: A History Revealed” which was nominated for a NAACP Image Award in 2016.

She teaches the following courses:

African American History from 1500- Present
Black Women's History
Understanding American Slavery and Film
Introduction to the Black Experience
Women and Slavery in the Transatlantic World

Carter Jackson's essays have been featured in The Atlantic, Transition Magazine, The Conversation, Boston’s NPR Blog Cognoscenti, AAIHS’s Black Perspectives blog, and Quartz, where her article was named one of the top 13 essays of 2014. She has also been interviewed for the New York Times, Al Jazeera International, Slate, The Telegraph, CBC, and Radio One. Carter Jackson also sits on the board for Transition Magazine where other essays of hers have been published.

Before coming to Wellesley College, Carter Jackson was a Harvard College Fellow in the Department of African & African American Studies at Harvard University. She earned her Ph.D in American History at Columbia University working under the esteemed historian Eric Foner. She enjoys spending time with her husband and kids, traveling, trying new foods, and binge watching her favorite TV shows!