Dr. Shannen Dee Williams, commended

2025 Regular Session

The bill formally commends Dr. Shannen Dee Williams for her scholarship and contributions to public understanding of Black Catholic and African American religious history.

Enacted

#resolutions

Overview / Purpose

HJR 152 is a House Joint Resolution enacted by the Alabama Legislature that formally commends Dr. Shannen Dee Williams for her professional achievements and “lasting impact on African American history,” with particular emphasis on scholarship concerning women and religion. The resolution is honorary in nature: it recognizes Dr. Williams’s academic record, publications, awards, service, and contributions to public understanding of Black Catholic and African American religious history.

Key provisions (what the resolution says)

Conveys the Legislature’s “highest commendations” to Dr. Shannen Dee Williams for her scholarship and professional accomplishments.

Lists Dr. Williams’s education, academic posts, fellowships, publications, awards, and leadership/service activities.

Offers the resolution to Dr. Williams “as evidence of our high regard with best wishes for continued success, blessings, and prosperity.”

Specific achievements cited (selected details)

Education: B.A. in History, Agnes Scott College (magna cum laude; Phi Beta Kappa); M.A. in Afro‑American Studies, University of Wisconsin–Madison; Ph.D. in History, Rutgers University.

Positions: Associate Professor of History, University of Dayton; Distinguished Lecturer, Organization of American Historians.

Major fellowships/grants: Schomburg Center Scholar‑in‑Residence; Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Fellowship (Woodrow Wilson National Foundation); Albert J. Beveridge Grant (AHA); John Tracy Ellis Dissertation Award.

Publications and media: Journal of African American History; American Catholic Studies; The Washington Post; America Magazine; U.S. Catholic; National Catholic Reporter; column “The Griot’s Cross” (Catholic News Service, 2020–2022).

Book: Subversive Habits: Black Catholic Nuns in the Long African American Freedom Struggle — Publisher’s Weekly top-five religion title; 2022 Letitia Woods Brown Award (Association of Black Women Historians); 2023 Wesley‑Logan Prize (AHA/ASALH).

Service and initiatives: First Black woman elected to the Executive Council of the American Catholic Historical Association; co‑founder of the Fleming‑Morrow Endowment in African American History (University of Tennessee, Knoxville); instrumental in establishing the Mother Mary Lange Lecture in Black Catholic History (Villanova) and the Cyprian Davis, O.S.B., Prize (ACHA/Cushwa Center, Notre Dame).

Who is affected / Impact

Primary subject: Dr. Shannen Dee Williams (honored individual).

Secondary impact: raises public and institutional recognition of scholarship on Black Catholic and African American women’s religious history; symbolic acknowledgment by the Alabama Legislature may enhance visibility for Dr. Williams’s work and related academic programs.

No legal, regulatory, or fiscal effects — the resolution is honorary and non‑binding.

Procedural history & status

Filed: February 21, 2025

First read: March 18–24, 2025 (committee referrals to Rules/State Affairs)

Enrolled: April 3, 2025 (delivered to Governor April 3)

Enacted/Adopted: April 8, 2025

This resolution is a formal legislative commendation recognizing Dr. Williams’s scholarly contributions and public service; it does not create new law or appropriate funds.

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