ICONversations: Dr. Irma McClaurin

Welcome to our ICONversations, a series where you will hear iconic Black feminist anthropologists answer five questions about their intellectual projects and growth, what their work has meant to them, and the imprints they want to leave on the world.

In this first episode, Alyssa and Brendane sit down with Dr. Irma McClaurin, an anthropologist who defies definition. In her words: “I don’t do academic windows.” Dr. McClaurin is a bio-cultural anthropologist, author, leader, and entrepreneur. She has, and continues to walk in alignment with her life’s purpose: creating space for Black women to thrive, to be celebrated and remembered.

Dr. Irma McClaurin describes her past interactions with Toni Cade Bambara, Chinua Achebe, and James Baldwin.

Dr. Irma McClaurin encourages students to see themselves as junior colleagues in the making as graduate students, and that everything that you produce in graduate school should have a purpose.