It is with great sadness we share that Dr. Naurice Frank Woods, Jr., professor emeritus of African American and African Diaspora Studies, passed away on March 8, 2026.
Woods grew up in Greensboro, N.C., raised by educator parents who were dedicated to truth, justice, and the sharing of knowledge.
When Joanne Smart Drane ‘60, the surviving alumna from the trailblazing duo, read a UNCG News story on the mural and the students who created it, she immediately reached out to the University with a request to meet them. This request led to a reception in her honor, which ended with a poignant conversation where artists Aminah Coppage ‘25, Jalani Maxwell ‘24, and Myles Wilder ‘25 were able to ask their famous predecessor the questions they pondered while creating the mural.
“Brighten the Corner Where You Are” is a novel written by the late UNC Greensboro English professor and esteemed writer, Fred Chappell. It’s also a fitting quote that’s featured in the new mural located in the Foust Building, where it brightens the entry to the College of Arts & Sciences Dean’s Office suite.
The mural’s artists are Aminah Coppage, Jalani Maxwell, and Myles Wilder, all UNCG students or recent alumni. Their journey as collaborative artists began in August 2024, when they first crossed paths in an African American Art History class taught by Dr. Noelle Morrissette.
In October of 2023, UNC Greensboro was awarded a Mellon Grant to fund student interns for community outreach projects. The grant description outlined efforts to develop curriculum for educators and community leaders that would address gaps in Black history education and fill needs that UNCG can provide to “Grow the World We Want.” This semester, the student intern projects are underway. Together, they illustrate the significance of UNCG’s African American and African Diaspora Studies (AADS) to its students and their future careers.
History Teacher & Department Chair, Goldsboro High School – Stephanie graduated cum laude from UNC Greensboro earning a bachelor’s degree in African American & African Diaspora Studies. She began teaching history at Goldsboro High School where she was awarded Teacher of the Year three different times. She also serves as the head coach for women’s cross country and the assistant coach of women’s basketball and soccer. Stephanie now serves as Goldsboro High’s History Department Chair. She was selected to be a member of Wayne County Public School’s Social Studies Super Core and is also a part of the inaugural Rural Teacher Leader Network where a diverse group of educators collaborate to strengthen professional practices and cultivate leadership that focuses on equity, trauma-informed practice, and global education. In 2021 she was selected to be a Southern Cohort Principal Fellow at North Carolina State University, where she is pursing her master’s degree in education.
Assistant Professor of Law at Elon University School of Law, where she teaches Legal Method and Communication, Race and the Law, and Public Interest Drafting. Prior to joining Elon Law, she successfully passed the North Carolina Bar Exam on her first attempt and became the youngest attorney to join the Greensboro Office of Legal Aid of North Carolina, where she practiced family law and public housing law, among other areas of civil litigation. She received her law degree from Elon University School of Law and her B.A. in African American & African Diaspora Studies and Political Science from UNC Greensboro. Professor Atkins was also the 2011 recipient of the David Gergen Award for Leadership and Professionalism.
Director & Assistant Professor, George Mason University – Founding Director of the John Mitchell, Jr. Program for History, Justice, and Race at George Mason University’s Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, where he is also an Assistant Professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution and History. He received his B.A. in African American & African Diaspora Studies at UNC Greensboro, where he was in Lloyd International Honors College. The author of The Silent Shore: The Lynching of Matthew Williams and the Politics of Racism in the Free State, he also edited For the Sake of Peace: Africana Perspectives on Racism, Justice, and Peace in America. Dr. Chavis received his M.T.S. in Black Church Studies from Vanderbilt University and Ph.D. in History from Morgan State University.
June 6, 2024 – The Freedom Festival is a celebration and an exploration of the relationship between freedom and independence. It lasts from Juneteenth (June 19, marking the end of slavery in the U.S.) through Independence Day (July 4, marking the independence of the U.S. from the British Empire). It consists of live, virtual and hybrid events from all over the U.S. and beyond. This year, AADS, in partnership with Lloyd International Honors College’s Let’s Learn! The World as Classroom, is contributing three online classes/conversations to the Freedom Festival. Everyone is invited to attend!
Tiera is a spoken word artist, writer, co-producer and a community organizer with interdisciplinary interests in the histories, cultures, literatures, and philosophies of African peoples. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate of The University of North Carolina Greensboro, where she received her B.A. in African American and African Diaspora Studies and her M.A. with a focus on Global Studies, Tiera has served in multiple roles at UNC Greensboro including Coordinator of Programing in Lloyd International Honors College at UNC Greensboro, Lecturer of the AADS Program’s introductory course, and co-director of Community Play!/All Stars in the Warnersville neighborhood of Greensboro. She has conducted graduate-level research in her family’s homeland Onitsha, Nigeria and The University of Cape Town, South Africa, which led to her 2019 TEDxUNCGreensboro Talk “Higgler is the New Hustle: Lessons from Igbo Women Entrepreneurs.” Currently Tiera works in consulting and strategy development for companies entering new African markets and lives in Playa Del Carmen, Mexico where she enjoys frequently traveling and visiting historical sites of the world.
Nique double-majored in African American & African Diaspora Studies and Political Science at UNC Greensboro and was one of the first AADS Whitty Ransome scholarship recipients. She interned with the Southern Coalition for Social Justice, North Carolina State Senator Gladys Robinson’s office, and Legal Affairs of North Carolina while pursuing her law degree. She received her J.D. from North Carolina Central Law School and worked in Washington, D.C. with the VA Board of Veteran’s Appeals and later returned to graduate school and received an M.A. from Shaw University. Her area of law is in veteran’s affairs, representing veterans and their families for disability compensation before the VA.
