Remembering Amuzie Chimezie

AMUZIE CHIMEZIE
1937-2014

Amuzie Chimezie was one of the first faculty members in the Department of Africana Studies shortly after its inception at the University of Cincinnati. Having earned an undergraduate degree from Tuskegee in Alabama and a Ph.D. from Indiana University, Dr. Chimezie imparted a wealth of information on segments of African culture and its correlation to Americans of African descent. When modern scholarship on African and African-American life and culture was in its nascent stage, Chimezie (as he was fondly called) was instrumental in developing and teaching courses such as African Cultures, Black Identity, and the Black Child.

Chimezie was the major contributor to the development of the social science area of the Africana Studies curriculum. Courses such as the Black Child, Black Identity and other aspects of African and African-American cultures proved to be the foundation for a curriculum that later emerged into one of the most representative Africana social science curricular in the country. Chimezie’s erudition was an invaluable asset to the Department of Africana Studies as it moved intellectually and by name through several stages--Afro-American Studies, African-American Studies, African and African-American Studies. 

By the time the department became Africana Studies, its most recent identification, Professor Chimezie had retired. However, his publications on African cultures, the interconnection of various Black cultures, Black Identity, and the Black Child, remain valuable resources for students and scholars in the field. His book, Black Culture: Theory and Practice (1984), was a significant part of the burgeoning scholarship for students and scholars studying and writing about culture.  

The Africana Studies Department at the University of Cincinnati will always remember Amuzie Chimezie’s dedication to its growth and productivity. 

Angelene Jamison-Hall, PhD

Professor Emeritus

Department of Africana Studies.