Presenters and Entertainers

Learn about this year’s guests.

Glenda Alvin

Glenda Alvin has written biographical essays in the Encyclopedia of African American Business, Notable African American Men (vol. 2), The Encyclopedia of African American Popular Culture, and Black Women of the Harlem Renaissance Era. She was the African American Studies Library Liaison at three institutions. She has published and presented at conferences as a member of the African American Funnell, which recommends updated research terms for African American Studies to the Library of Congress.

Ms. Alvin is a member of the Association of College and Research Libraries Division (ACRL) and a former Convener for African American Studies Librarians Interest Group (AASLIG). Her other memberships include the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA), the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH), the American Quilters Society (AQS), and the ALA Biblioquilters.

Glenda Alvin held acquisitions and collections management positions at St. Petersburg Jr. College, University of Central Arkansas, and The College of New Jersey before coming to Tennessee State University in 1997. She became Dean of Libraries and Media Center in November 2022.

Dr. Renatto V. Carr

Dr. Renatto V. Carr currently serves as a lecturer in both the John Martinson Honors Program and the history department at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville. He possesses a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, a master’s degree in criminal justice, and a Ph.D. in Historical Studies from Southern Illinois University. His research focuses on nineteenth and twentieth century United States history, with a particular emphasis on white-on-Black violence. This includes the systems and legacies of enslavement, Slave Codes, Black Codes, convict leasing, lynchings, so called “race riots,” state and law enforcement suppression, and the rape and sexualized violence inflicted upon African American women.

For the past six years, Carr has been researching James Person’s 1942 lynching in Edgar County, Illinois. His article surrounding Person’s lynching has been approved by The Journal of African American History. Publication of the article is expected in January/February of 2026.

Cheryl McKissack Daniel

Cheryl McKissack Daniel is President & CEO of McKissack & McKissack, the oldest minority- and woman-owned design and construction firm in the nation. A fifth-generation builder and author of The Black Family Who Built America (Simon & Schuster, August 2025), she carries forward her family’s 230-year legacy while shaping the future of infrastructure, equity, and generational wealth.

A civil engineer with more than 30 years of experience, Cheryl has overseen over $50 billion in construction, leading projects that have transformed skylines and communities nationwide. Her firm’s portfolio includes the New Terminal One at JFK International Airport, LaGuardia Central Terminal Building Redevelopment, Columbia University’s Manhattanville Expansion, Coney Island Hospital Campus Renovation, the Lincoln and Harlem Hospitals, and consulting for the MTA – the nation’s largest transit system.

Her book traces her family’s journey from enslavement to entrepreneurship, highlighting the McKissack’s pioneering contributions to American architecture and construction while underscoring the broader truth that Black families have been foundational builders of America. A proud Howard University alumna, Cheryl continues to lead with vision and preparedness – honoring her family’s history while shaping the future of the built
environment.

Serina K. Gilbert

Serina K. Gilbert is an original descendant of the Promise Land Community in Dickson County, Tennessee. She received her elementary and secondary education from the county’s segregated school system. After graduating from Tennessee State University, she relocated to New York City and worked for the city’s Social Services and Health departments before moving to Washington, D.C. to attend Howard University. There she earned a master’s degree in social work. She enjoyed more than 35 years of diversified experience in the field of Social Work. In 2002, she retired and relocated to her home of origin. She has since led the efforts of preserving the history of the Promise Land community and currently serves as the Executive Director of the Promise Land Heritage Association in Charlotte, Tennessee. She recently co-authored From the Fiery Furnace to the Promise Land: Stories of a Tennessee Reconstruction Community (Vanderbilt University Press, 2025) with Dr. Learotha Williams, Jr.

MD and Cobalt Blue

Award nominated, regionally celebrated MD and Cobalt Blue has crafted a sound steeped in roots and culture Reggae music…tempered with spoken word/hip-hop…dripping with soul and funk. Out of Nashville, Tennessee, MD and Cobalt Blue is an authentic fusion of multiple music genres producing a familiar, yet unique sound and vibration. Nominated for a Nashville Independent Music Award for best Soul/Funk fusion band four years in a row, popular from colleges to clubs and festivals, MD and Cobalt Blue stays busy presenting a brand of music that promotes introspection, love, community, spiritual and social awareness and the celebration of life.

Rev. Troy Merritt, Jr. (ret.)

Reverend Troy Merritt, Jr. is a native Nashvillian and a 1966 graduate of Pearl High School. As a teenager, he participated in the Nashville civil rights marches during the 1960-1968 era. Influenced by the Revs. Andrew White, Kelly Miller Smith, and others, this led him to advocate for those marginalized by society.

He received Bachelor of Science (1970) and Master of Arts (1973) degrees from Fisk University. In 1990, while serving as pastor of historic Avery Chapel in Memphis, he received the Master of Divinity degree, Cum Laude, and the Alston Award as the Outstanding Black Student from Memphis Theological Seminary. He has also studied at American Baptist College, Trevecca Nazarene University, and Tennessee State University. Rev. Merritt accepted the call to preach at Lee Chapel A.M.E. Church, Nashville under the Rev. Charles A. Jones in February 1978. From 2004-2012, Merritt served as Presiding Elder of the South Nashville District. A representative of the African Methodist Episcopal Church Tennessee Conference, Rev. Merritt has worked with at-risk youth in a variety of city and state government programs as well as in private not-for-profit mental health centers. He has taught graduate level courses and trained many teachers in positive approaches to classroom and behavior management.

Dr. Tara Mitchell Mielnik

Dr. Tara Mitchell Mielnik is an Associate Professor of History and Public History at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee, where she teaches a variety of classes, including Museum Studies, Sports History, African American History, Environmental History, and the History of American Crime. Prior to her work at Cumberland, Dr. Mielnik was historian at the Metropolitan Historical Commission in Nashville for twelve years, where she began her research into the families that called Sunnyside home and served as publication chair for the Nashville Conference on African American History and Culture. A ninth generation Tennessean, she lives in Old Hickory and is a graduate of the University of the South and Middle Tennessee State University, where she received the first Ph.D. in Public History.

Dr. Daniel Schafer

Dr. Daniel Schafer is a professor of history at Belmont University, where he has taught Russian, Central Asian, Middle Eastern, and world history since 1996. His primary research field – the history of non-Russian Muslim ethnic minorities in the Russian Empire and Soviet Union – engages with the structures of ethnic, racial, religious, and class inequality and their association with a myriad of injustices large and small. As a member of Christ Church Cathedral in Nashville, he is engaged in a research program to uncover and narrate a fuller and more complete history of the parish’s role in the Nashville community, particularly as it relates to race and racial inequality.

Jeff Sellers

Jeff Sellers is a public historian and author with over 20 years of experience in local and state history, as well as in the museum field. As Director of Education at the Tennessee State Museum and State Capitol, he has led all museum education initiatives, including the design and development of the museum’s children’s gallery. He has also independently curated local history exhibits, including one on Nashville’s iconic Goo Goo Clusters.

Jeff has served on numerous historical boards and councils at the local, state, and national levels, including the American Association for State and Local History. An active member of the community, he is a longtime board members and past president of the Nashville City Cemetery Association, Inc.

His most recent book, The Tennessee State Capitol (Arcadia Publishing, 2024), explores the Capitol’s history and the role of enslaved laborers in its construction – a subject that continues to inform his current research.

Dr. Learotha Williams, Jr.

Dr. Learotha Williams, Jr., Ph.D. is a scholar of African American, Civil War & Reconstruction, and Public History at Tennessee State University (TSU) in Nashville, Tennessee. At TSU, he coordinates the North Nashville Heritage Project, an effort that seeks to encourage a greater understanding of the history of North Nashville, including but not limited to Jefferson Street, and its historic relationship to the greater Nashville community. He is also the founding member of Past Perfect, LLC, a Nashville-based consulting firm that provides reliable and timely research and analysis for litigation, corporate genealogies, and site histories. Past Perfect also specializes in storytelling for African American-themed historic sites, public and private projects, and cultural institutions. His most recent publications include From the Fiery Furnace to the Promise Land: Stories of a Tennessee Reconstruction Community (Vanderbilt University Press, 2025), co-authored with Serina K. Gilbert, and I’ll Take You There: Exploring Nashville’s Social Justice Sites (Vanderbilt University Press, 2021). Dr. Williams is a native of Tallahassee, Florida, where he earned his doctorate in history from Florida State University in 2003.

W. Crimm Singers

Born in North Nashville from a joyful 2018 Wakanda-themed Freedom School presentation at the request of veteran educator and opera singer William G. Crimm, the W. Crimm Singers have quickly garnered acclaim as a leading voice in the preservation of the African American music traditions. The professional ensemble-in-residence for the Big Blue Opera Initiatives at Tennessee State University embraces the full breadth of the Black musical experience. With a roster of 70-plus members, the ensemble focuses on Negro Spirituals, African American operatic and concert repertoire, hymnody, anthems, gospel, jazz, and Americana while creating professional opportunities for young artists of color.

The W. Crimm Singers have recorded and performed with Louis York, Stars Go Dim, Intersection, Hannibal Lokumbe, and Rodrick Dixon; appeared on 91Classical’s Live in Studio C and Bobby Jones Presents; and debuted at the Colour of Music Festival (2019). Their work includes programming for the International Florence Price festival, numerous collaborations with the Nashville Symphony and Nashville African American Wind Symphony, and Early Music City’s 2021, 2022, and 2025 performances of Handel’s Messiah featuring the first and only all-Black vocal cast of the work in Nashville in more than 25 years. Regular performers at the Harry T. Burleigh Spirituals Festival and the National Civil Rights Museum’s MLK commemorations, they also contributed to the Grammy-winning The Urban Hymnal (2022), appeared on Reportin’ For Duty: A Tribute to Leslie Jordan, marking their Grand Ole Opry debut (2023), and in 2024 became the first African American choral ensemble featured at the Early Music America Conference.

Profiles

The 2026 profiles will be available here prior to the conference.

The 2026 NCAAHC Planning Committee

Co-Founder & Co-Chair Linda T. Wynn, Tennessee Historical Commission/formerly with Fisk University Department of History and Political Science
Co-Chair Dr. Learotha Williams, Jr., Tennessee State University
Dr. Joel Dark, Tennessee State University
Caroline Eller, Metropolitan Historical Commission
Dr. Elizabeth Johnson, Tennessee State University
Gloria McKissack, Tennessee State University (ret.)
Fletcher Moon, Tennessee State University (ret.)
Sandra Parham, Meharry Medical College
Jamaal B. Sheats, Fisk University
Sharon Hull Smith, Tennessee State University
W. Tim Walker, Executive Director, Metropolitan Historical Commission (ret.)