Who is Professor Sholomo Levy?
What is his history?
Traces his ancestry to North Carolina
Parents migrated to New York City in the 1950s
Father converted to Judaism
He was born in 1964 the fifth of six children
Where did he get his education?
B.A. Degree in Political Science (I wasn’t a history major)
Expected to become a lawyer or business executive
Spent a semester at Tel Aviv University in Israel (traveled to Europe, Africa, and the MIddle East)
Senior year met a professor who encouraged him to go to graduate school and become a scholar
M.A. Degree
Studied with Cornel West and John Blassingame
Conducted primary research at the Library of Congress and National Archive in Washington, D.C.
Began teaching as a graduate assistant
M, Phil Degree
Studied with Alan Brinkley (the author of our textbook)
Began writing a Ph.D. dissertation on the History of Black Jews in New York
How much teaching experience does Professor Levy have?
Andrew Jackson High School, Jamaica, New York. History teacher and coach of the debating team.
Laguardia Community College, City University of New York.
Long Island University, Brooklyn Campus.
Medgar Evers College, City University of New York.
Middlebury College, Vermont.
Northampton Community College, Professor of History. 2005 to the Present.
Professor Levy has been nominated for the Christensen Excellence in Teaching Award in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2016, and 2019.
What has Professor Levy published?
African American National Biography (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008), Associate Editor.
African American Lives (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004). Twenty-three biographies including those of Father Divine, Reverend Ike, Maya Angelou, Louis Farrakhan, Tiger Woods, August Wilson, Amy E.J. Garvey, and John Hope Franklin.
“Safe! Jackie Robinson and the Image of the Non-Threatening Black Male.”
Conference Paper. Long Island University. April 3-5, 1997. This article was subsequently cited in Jet Magazine 21 April 1997 and in the New York Daily News 4 April 1997.
“Judaism: Black Jews in America” in Encyclopedia of African-American History and Culture, Vol. III, ed. Cornel West and Jack Salzman (New York: Macmillan Publication, 1996).
At Harvard University, Professor Levy was an Assistant Editor of these encyclopedias.
What is Professor Levy like when he is not teaching?
Fun Facts
