Academic Historian

Quin’Nita Cobbins-Modica is an Assistant Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she teaches courses in African American and civil rights history.  Her research and writing interests focus on the history of black women’s social and political activism in the American West.  Her most recent article, “Let Us…Take Our Places in Public Affairs: Black Women’s Political Activism in the Pacific Northwest, 1870-1920,” explores the early political activities of western black women and the ways they wielded their electoral and political influence to help shape concepts of freedom and progressive politics in the region.  Currently, she is working on a forthcoming manuscript that examines the long history of black women’s organizing tradition, political engagement, and activism in Seattle that extended well beyond formal politics and the fight for women’s suffrage. While illuminating African American history in the Pacific Northwest, her work offers an expansive new interpretation of the symbiotic relationship between women’s activism, civil rights, and public service.

As a strong supporter of public history and the digital humanities, Cobbins-Modica works with local historical institutions and organizations and also contributes to online public-facing history projects. She is presently a participant in the Humanities Washington Speakers Bureau Program, delivering engaging lectures across urban and rural areas in Washington state and highlighting the central role black women played in the state’s civil rights movement.  She has served as a researcher and guest teaching lecturer for the Northwest African American History Museum and as a gallery exhibit reviewer, exhibition co-curator, and historical consultant for the Museum of History & Industry in Seattle. In 2017, she co-authored a book, Seattle on the Spot, that explored photographs of Black Seattle through the lens of photographer, Al Smith. She also has published articles profiling black women activists in the American West for the Women and Social Movements in the United States, 1600-2000 digital project.

Since 2013, Cobbins-Modica has been a dedicated member of the BlackPast.org team, having worked in several capacities, including webmaster, content contributor, associate editor, and executive director.

She completed her Ph.D at the University of Washington with an undergraduate degree in History from Fisk University and a Master’s degree in History from the University of Georgia.

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