E. Rae Ferguson. Ph.D., is professor of history and African-American studies at the University of Rhode Island and lives in Saunderstown. Rae's research interests include African-American history, black women, and African diaspora in the Americas. She is the recipient of several honors and awards, including an NEH Summer Seminar Fellowship at the W.E.B. DuBois Institute at Harvard University in 2003 and the Doug Ramos Faculty Sabbatical Fellowship from the URI Center for the Humanities for 2006-2007.