Biography

Hannah J. Francis, Assistant Professor in the Africana Studies Department, received her undergraduate degree in history from Jackson State University. She earned her graduate degrees in history from the University of New Orleans and Rice University. Before coming to the University of Rhode Island, she was employed by the National Park Service and the New Orleans Public Library System.

Her research focuses on the movement, migration, and travel of people of African descent during the era of transatlantic slavery. She is particularly interested in instances where members of the African diaspora voluntarily traveled. Her current project analyzes a set of passports issued to enslaved and free people of color to travel from nineteenth century New Orleans.

Originally from the Louisiana, she lived in Maine, Mississippi, and Texas before coming to Rhode Island. Her hobbies include reading, traveling, and spending time at the beaches in Southern Rhode Island.