Dr. Sheena Mason | Source | Assistant Professor of Literature at SUNY Oneonta

Dr. Sheena Mason earned her Ph.D. in English literature “with distinction” in May 2021 from Howard University. She joined the faculty at SUNY Oneonta in Oneonta, NY, in August 2021, as a tenure-track Assistant Professor in African American literature. She has taught at the College of William and Mary, California Lutheran University, and Howard University. Her book titled Theory of Racelessness: A Case for Philosophies of Antirace(ism) has been accepted by Palgrave MacMillan and is anticipated to hit the press in early 2022. Additionally, she co-authored “Harlem Renaissance: An Interpretation of Racialized Art and Ethics,” a chapter of the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of Ethics and Art examining what, if anything, is the proper role of race in the aesthetic productions of or about members of racialized populations.

“‘A WHITE SLAVE:’ Albinism in Barbara Chase-Riboud’s Sally Hemings” from Cosmopolitanisms, Race, and Ethnicity (2019) analyzes how race functions as racism in Chase-Riboud’s Sally Hemings.

Dr. Mason works actively to improve and free our language and, therefore, our thoughts. In “No Malcolm X in My History Text” (2018), she examines the iterations of the folklore figure Staggerlee, the figure’s relation to the public sphere, and racism. Ultimately, she concludes that Staggerlee persists in the American imagination and is a simultaneously and paradoxically subversive and stereotypical figure, highlighting the pervasiveness of racism and society’s response to racism. In her scholarship, Dr. Mason consistently and unwaveringly works to promote anti-racism through her publications and teaching.

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Her sustained interest in understanding systemic racism and, importantly, being a change agent for social justice resulted in her primary specialization in African American literature. Her secondary specializations are American and Caribbean literature. Through her research, teaching, and service, Dr. Mason inspires and informs organizations in every sector on anti-racism and revolutionary anti-racist initiatives and policy-changing efforts. She helps businesses and nonprofits turn the page in their missions and visions, bringing anti-racism from a lofty idea to reality.

Dr. Mason is Freedom Summer Collegiate’s first Program Manager. Freedom Summer Collegiate Institute is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide college-level courses for college credit to underserved high school students.

Here, she combines her leadership experience, business acumen, teaching and research expertise, and unwavering passion for activism and advocacy in all aspects of her work.

Before earning her doctorate, Dr. Mason worked at 24 Hour Fitness. Her career spanned approximately four years. During that time, she was a Service Representative Lead, Assistant Operations Manager, Sales Manager, Operations Manager, and Club (General) Manager. In 2013, she was recruited to grand open a location in Nanuet, New York, as an Operations Manager. She had such success that she was promoted into their selective and coveted Club Manager Trainee program. She was then a Sales Manager in New Jersey before being promoted to Club Manager in Alamo, California. Within a few months of her promotion, she earned a promotion to one of the most prominent locations in a nearby district. The club in San Jose, California, had just under 100 team members, four department heads, and thousands of fitness members. She thrived in that role and improved the club's culture for both team members and members alike. Finally, though, she stopped deferring her doctorate and proceeded to take the business acumen she had gained with her to the next chapter of her professional aspirations.

Her unique areas of expertise (i.e., business/leadership, academia, and nonprofit) make her the ideal public speaker, workshop creator, and educator. In 2007, she was the chosen student commencement speaker for her undergraduate graduation where she experienced firsthand the power of both public speaking and education. Also, in 2007, Dr. Mason was featured in a local newspaper for overcoming extreme adversity to graduate from college with high honors and, ultimately, be the commencement speaker. These successes and highlights affirmed for Dr. Mason her life’s purpose, which is to inform and inspire a world of possibilities for underserved communities, for people who experience hardships similar to those she lived through and overcame.