Wake Forest history professor to receive Peace Corps’ Franklin Williams Award

James Wilson, assistant professor of history at Wake Forest University, will be one of 12 recipients of the Peace Corps’ Franklin H. Williams Award at a June 4 ceremony in Washington, D.C.

The award honors Peace Corps volunteers of color who have put their overseas experiences to work in their communities and in their professions to promote a better understanding of other people and their cultures.

Wilson taught English and African literature as a Peace Corps volunteer in Kenya from 1985-1987. Considered an authority on Kenyan history and culture, he has been the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships including a 2003 grant from Wake Forest’s William C. Archie Fund for Faculty Excellence for his research proposal “The Untold Story: Kikuyu Christians, Memories, and the Kikuyu Independent Schools Movement in Kenya from 1922-1962.”

Wilson received his doctorate in history from Princeton University and a master’s degree in African history and African-American studies from Cornell University.

Earlier this week, the State Department asked Wilson to brief the United States’ new ambassador to Kenya regarding matters of the country.

Categories: Faculty, Recognition