This InConversation interrogates the idea of 'moving on' regarding grief after loss. 'Moving on' is often power-imbued. It perpetuates inequalities within established margins in death politics. Resilience is expected of the survivors regardless. In this InConversation, we reflect on (overly)simplistic approaches of dismissal in death matters and how they affect particular groups in society.

Dr Fletcher is an Associate Professor of American & African American History and Co-Coordinator of Women’s and Gender Studies at Albright College. She teaches courses that explores the African experience in America and unpacks social and cultural U.S. history all at the intersection of race, gender, class, and sexuality.

Her research centers on African American burial grounds, late 19th/early 20th century Black female and male undertakers, and contemporary Black grief and mourning. She is the co-editor of Till Death Do Us Part: American Ethnic Cemeteries as Borders Uncrossed which examines the internal and/or external drives among ethnic, religious, and racial groups to separate their dead (University Press of Mississippi, April 2020) She is currently working on Grave History: Death, Race & Gender in Southern Cemeteries from Antebellum to the Post-Civil Rights Era investigates the southern places where cemeteries take root as well as probe the interplay of southern history, culture, race, class, gender, and climate in these cities of the dead (University of Georgia Press).

Currently, Dr Fletcher is working on a manuscript that historicizes Mount Auburn Cemetery in Baltimore, the first Black owned and operated cemetery in Maryland. The book positions African American cemeteries as the point where life and death meet arguing that this meeting point is a symbol of Black freedom from White control.

For more on Dr Fletcher visit her website and/or contact her on Twitter using @kamifletcher36.

George Gumisiriza

George is pursuing a PhD in Social and Policy Sciences, funded by ESRC and the University of Bath. His PhD thesis is Repatriationscapes: death and body repatriation among African diaspora in the UK. His work focuses on Afrocentric perspectives on death, moving away from Western / Eurocentric perspectives. How does death portray African diaspora regarding policy and regulations within the dominant discourse in the UK? George’s work addresses broader global issues involving identity, belonging, migration and social capital. His research aims to draw to the mainstream, foster understanding of Afrocentric perspectives on death, funerary rituals, and practices. George obtained Master of Research in International Development with a distinction from the University of Bath in 2021. He obtained a Master of Science in Social and Cultural Theory from the University of Bristol (UK) in 2020 and has a Bachelor of Education (Honours) from Makerere University, Uganda where he lived prior to moving to the UK ten years ago.

CDAS InConversation: Dr Kami Fletcher with George Gumisiriza