Jerry W. Ward, Jr.: A Personal Critique

Abstract： Jerry W. Ward， Jr. （1943-2025） is a renowned African American scholar and poet. This article presents a critique of Dr. Ward by remembering him as a literary scholar and critic， educator， mentor， and cultural and academic ambassador to China and the world. It reveals the uniqueness in Dr. Ward’s critical thinking about African American culture， tradition and history， his importance as an internationally known scholar， his originality in his poetic art， and the value of his legacy for African American literature and its scholarship.

Key words： Jerry W. Ward， Jr.; African American literature; remembrance; critique

Author： John Zheng is Professor of English， Mississippi Valley State University， USA. His academic research is mainly focused on American ethnic literature. E-mail： zheng@mvsu.edu

標題：杰瑞·沃德：一個個人視角的評論

內容摘要：杰瑞·沃德是美國著名的非裔文學學者和詩人。本文作者通過回顧自己與沃德教授的交往，還原了沃德教授作為文學學者、批評家、教育家、導師以及中國和世界的文化與學術大使的身份并加以評價。文章肯定了沃德教授在美國非裔文化、傳統和歷史研究方面的獨特思想、作為國際學者的重要地位、在詩歌藝術上的獨創性、以及他對美國非裔文學及其學術研究的影響。

關鍵詞：杰瑞·沃德；美國非裔文學；回憶錄；評論

作者簡介：鄭建青，美國密西西比河谷州立大學教授，主要研究美國族裔文學。

Dr. Jerry W. Ward， Jr. left to join his ancestors on the afternoon of February 8， 2025. When Rose Parkman sent me the sad news the same afternoon， the ringtone of her email was like a sudden shock. I fell into deep thought. His voice and laughter lingered in my study. To me and many others， Jerry was always a kind and generous person， like an amiable elder. Our last communications ended in December 2021. It was about our journal or our literary baby. On December 12， Jerry emailed me：

Dear John，

The final issue of JEAL arrived yesterday， and I was pleased that Zhang Tian’s interview was included.

Do be proud of how you promoted scholarship in the magazine. I remember with gratitude your allowing me to serve as guest editor for the first issues and the adventures we shared in the production of subsequent issues.

I hope many good things will happen for you in 2022.

All best wishes，

Jerry

Jerry mentioned the “final issue” because I wrote previously to advisory board members that I might find a university to take the baton of editing the Journal of Ethnic American Literature. This “final issue” included an interview with Jerry by Professor Zhang Tian， Jerry’s young colleague at Central China Normal University. The interview focused on the cultural exchanges Jerry brought to Chinese universities and his multiple impressions， unforgettable experiences， and distinguished professorships in China. It revealed a positive response from Jerry that Chinese scholars and learners had a strong interest in African American literature but the library resources for research and teaching were scarce. With this in consideration， Jerry felt obligated to foster a positive connection between Chinese and American scholars by establishing the African American Research Network for both sides to exchange ideas about teaching， research， and learning. Jerry’s teaching at CCNU must be his most memorable one， as he said to me one day he wanted to go back. Yet， he couldn’t compete with age.

Jerry was a great consultant and supporter when I founded the journal. We discussed the journal’s goals， call for submissions， identifying board members， special issues， etc. He recommended some well-known scholars as advisory board members： Dr. Maremma Graham， Dr. Arnold Krupat， and Dr. Robert Butler. Jerry remained one of two staunch board members who never refused to review submissions. Another one is dear Bob. Dr. Robert Butler is the coeditor of The Richard Wright Encyclopedia with Jerry and another scholar I feel lucky to know through Jerry. Thankfully， Jerry guest-edited the first issue， an issue that attracted Harvard to subscribe to. One night， we chatted on the phone about the journal and a possible future issue. He advised me to contact Dr. Howard Rambsy to guest-edit an issue， which attracted luminary Houston Baker to send his subscription. The next day I replied to Jerry’s email：

Hi Jerry，

Thank you so much for writing about JEAL. I am always grateful for your generous support. Without your help， JEAL wouldn’t make much progress.

I may try to keep it for one more year as Jon Peede may offer some help. But I think the advisory board may need a change. I may think of seeking help for a new board that can really help with JEAL if I plan to keep it going. Maybe also recruit a couple of young scholars from other institutions to serve as associate editors.

I am tangled without being able to start the introduction of your conversations book as the deadline of Dec 15 is hanging overhead. I will inform Mary from UPM that I will need more days.

Happy Holidays！

John

Yes， I changed my mind; I decided to keep JEAL on track when Jon Peede and Laura Vrana joined as associate editors. I updated Jerry that I needed more days to write the introduction to his conversation book. Jerry replied the same day：

Dear John，

If you decide to extend the life of JEAL for one more year， I suggest that you create a totally new board of advisory editors who might infuse the magazine with new energy.

I think UPM will give you more time to work on the introduction.

All best wishes，

Jerry

In January 2022， I emailed Jerry the introduction to his conversations. In February 2022， I sent the final version and informed him I would send the manuscript to the press. In May 2022， I emailed Jerry for a headshot for the book cover. Since I didn’t receive his reply to the previous three emails and since I heard from one of his mentees that he was ill， I began to worry about Jerry’s health， so I requested the press to reschedule the publication date （the official publication date was July for Jerry’s 80th birthday）. In January 2023， I sent an email to Jerry， though I felt it would be like Voyager 1 in the outer space：

Dear Jerry，

Fond greetings！

Been thinking of you oftentimes.

Though I don’t know if this email will reach you， I am glad to tell you that your Conversations book will be out in March 2023. I wish to send you your copies if your New Orleans address still functions.

It’s a great pleasure to see the publication of your book and I feel it an honor to edit it. Thank you as always for your help！

I wish you well in the new year！

Very best，

John

The silence was broken until I received an email from Dr. Graham in July 2023 about Jerry’s 80th birthday and his new address if we planned to visit. On July 31， I drove to Ocean Springs to see Jerry on his 80th birthday. Delightfully surprised， he smiled upon seeing me. I then walked to the front desk to ask for scissors to cut the long stems of birthday flowers and placed them in the jar on the chest of drawers in Jerry’s room. We had a quiet chat， Jerry sitting in the wheelchair and me on the footboard. The Assisted Living didn't assist Jerry with a chair. I don’t remember seeing a computer or laptop in the room. Jerry asked me to pick the copy of Conversations with Jerry W. Ward Jr by his pillow and said he spotted a typo. I joked it must have slipped our sharp eyes. He said in a feeble voice I could call him since he no longer accessed email. He also said he wanted to return to New Orleans. Though I felt he looked better than I had imagined， I never made a call since my visit， thinking a single call would be too cruel to disturb his secluded peace， a silence we may all choose someday.

I knew Jerry first by his insightful introduction to Richard Wright’s Black Boy， one of one hundred books on my reading list for my doctoral comps in 1995 at a university that barely offered a graduate course on African American literature. Jerry’s introduction was thoroughly insightful and impressed me deeply. His introduction was a valuable sample of serious literary criticism. When Dr. Mack H. Jones， Director of the MVSU Delta Research Center， approached me for collaboration on a lecture series about the Mississippi Delta， Jerry’s name leaped to my mind. Soon he drove from New Orleans to talk to English faculty about integrating the Delta into research and curriculum. That was the first time we met in person. That was in 2005. There must be some influence from Jerry when I shifted my interest from literary criticism to the Delta research， doing essays and photographic essays about the vanishing Delta including abandoned churches， luminary bluesmen， defunct black clinics and hospitals， the Emmett Till incident， ghost towns， the Mississippi River， etc. I also began to interview Delta writers.

Next year， my dean supported me with funds to invite Jerry to deliver a speech to the honors students and have a roundtable talk with English majors about Richard Wright. They were reading Wright’s haiku and Black Boy for their senior research papers. That must be a very charming and beneficial afternoon for our students. An hour later， I returned to the conference room to remind Jerry the meeting could be over because he had a long road to drive. But seeing my students were all imbued in Jerry’s soft voice， I stood by the door for him to finish his talk. Jerry must have imagined I was standing there for a long while to check on the process， and he mentioned it in The Katrina Paper. When I said he misinterpreted me， we both laughed.

Jerry came to our campus three more times， twice as the speaker at the workshops funded by the grants I received from the National Endowment for the Humanities （NEH） and once as the keynote speaker at the university honors convocation. In November 2021， with a grant I received from the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area， we invited Jerry for a Zoom lecture on a workshop on how the lynching of Emmett Till sparked the civil rights movement. This time， I felt Jerry had changed. He spoke slowly and feebly. I began to worry about his health.

I believe the high time for Jerry must be the invitation to deliver a keynote speech in China in December 2009. When I was a Fulbright Scholar attending a workshop in Beijing， the U.S. Embassy said we could apply for a grant to host a conference in China. Since I changed my one-year stay to one semester， I applied for the grant immediately. With the effort of Dr. Luo Lianggong and my host university， a large symposium on African American literature was held. I contacted Diane Sovereign， Consul General to the U.S. Consulate General in Wuhan to give a welcome speech. Supported by the grant， Jerry flew to Wuhan to deliver a keynote speech. He also gave a lecture to faculty and students. Since then， he developed a crush on CCNU and returned at least seven more times to serve as a Distinguished Overseas Professor awarded by the Chinese Ministry of Education and an Honorary Professor by the university. He enjoyed his time there as a mentor， teacher， and speaker on his tours to other universities.

It is confident that the weighty tome of Jerry’s scholarship is not just his fame in Richard Wright and American literary criticism but also his much-admired personality. He had a kind heart and was always ready to extend his hand to help others. As a highly respected teacher， scholar， editor， and writer specializing in African American literature， Jerry was recognized internationally as a leading expert on Richard Wright. He published poetry， nonfiction， literary criticism， encyclopedias， and anthologies， including Fractal Song， The Katrina Papers， The China Lectures： African American Critical and Literary Issues， Trouble the Water： 250 Years of African American Poetry， The Richard Wright Encyclopedia （with Robert J. Butler）， The Cambridge History of African American Literature （with Maryemma Graham）， and a few other titles. His many awards include the Public Humanities Scholar Award from the Mississippi Humanities Council， the Daryl Cumber Dance Award for Lifetime Achievement from the College Language Association， the Thad Cochran Humanities Achievement Award， the Richard Wright Literary Excellence Award from the Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration， and the Reginald Martin Award for Excellence in Criticism from PEN Oakland. Jerry was a Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English and African World Studies at Dillard University in New Orleans and a Lawrence Durgin Professor of Literature and chair of English at Tugaloo College in Jackson， Mississippi.

As an independent literary scholar and critic， Jerry demonstrated his unique critical thinking about African American culture， tradition， and history. He published The China Lectures： African American Literary and Critical Issues in 2014. This book presents his insightful ideas about literary history， cultural literacy， and current studies in African American literature. Jerry pointed out that scholars in African American literature confront “a surplus of postmodern options for dealing with an always expanding body of work” （Ward， The China Lectures 4）. He believed that constructing literary history led to “more powerful， thoughtful， and practical forms of knowledge” （Ward， The China Lectures 4） and “a much clearer understanding of continuity and change within the traditions of African American literature” （Ward， The China Lectures 4）. His thinking about literary history is especially significant. In discussion of the function of literature， one can explore a broader sphere and dig into history， culture， tradition， and race. In his introduction to Black Boy， Jerry said the “continuing value” of the book engages us “to use autobiography to think about how our lives are shaped by law and custom， by ethnic encounters and interracial negotiations， by desire and psychological defeat and intrepidity” （Ward， Introduction xix）. This value also engages us in a historical discussion about the South， Jim Crow law， and the existential meaning of human beings.

I owe a debt of gratitude to Jerry for his selfless and longtime devotion to the Journal of Ethnic American Literature and Valley Voices： A Literary Review. He was a very supportive advisory board member for both journals， a guest editor for a special issue， and a true friend who wrote four reviews of my books. In the fall 2023 issue， Louisiana Literature published Jerry’s review of my award-winning poetry collection， A Way of Looking.

We must have mutual appreciation. To showcase Jerry’s importance as an internationally known scholar and a fine poet， I interviewed him twice. Literary interviews are important because they provide windows to look into writers’ critical or creative minds. That was my reason for interviewing Jerry. I conducted the first interview in 2015， titled “The Many Influences of Richard Wright： An Interview with Jerry W. Ward Jr.” It was published in African American Review. As the title shows， it is about the many influences of Richard Wright from Jerry’s point of view as a leading Wright scholar. He expressed a genuine feeling about his affinity with Wright， saying “Wright’s use of literacy， of language to communicate his vision， was very attractive” （Zheng 119）. The more he studied Wright the more he became captivated by Wright’s ability to convey meanings through language. In 2016， Jerry， a Richard Wright scholar， impressed us with the publication of his first and only poetry collection， Fractal Song. So I decided to conduct the second interview with him. That took place in 2019. The interview was titled “A Scholar Born to Write Poetry： Interview with Jerry W. Ward Jr.” and published in Mississippi Quarterly. It featured Jerry’s creative talent as a poet. His love for poetry started when he was a college student. Jerry published poetry in 1964 in Daemon， a publication of Tougaloo College， where he received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and later taught as a professor of English. Jerry published poems in fine journals including Mississippi Review， Iowa Review， Drumvoices Revue， The Black Scholar， The Georgia Review， Black Magnolias， Black American Literature Forum， and anthologies including Mississippi Writers， The Jazz Poetry， and Modern American Poets. He said， “I was prompted to write poetry by my fascination with words and my yearning to develop my skills in the arena of art” （Zheng 184）.

In his poetry， Jerry used music as an important means to shape his use of allusions and present history. Music expressed his ideas about “chaos， entanglement， and contradictions of being human.” His signature poem， “Jazz to Jackson to John，” is an example that shows his experiment with music， and this experiment focuses on the sound of poetry and the use of allusions， as he explained，

When I perform that poem， I use vocal techniques from spirituals， blues， and jazz. In “movement one： genesis” I associate an unidentified occasion with “sheets of sound wrinkled / with riffs and scats，” with the blues flying out into jazz. I refer to sounds one might have heard in Jackson， Mississippi on Farish Street—the voice of Billie Holiday， the playing of Monk and Parker; here also are fragments of album titles， song titles， and lyrics—“these foolish things，” “angel eyes，” and “around midnight.” Near the end of this movement are the crucial lines “who dug whether race records were / lamentations or lynchings： jazz.” （Zheng 185）

This passage shows that Jerry had endeavored to cultivate a sense of musical aesthetics from his cultural traditions. Influenced by his parents， Jerry had nurtured an interest in literature and music and maintained his racial dignity.

When I read Jerry’s interviews with others， I realized their importance in showing his deep thoughts and wisdom， so I began to collect them， thinking I needed to take the task of building a Ward Mansion with windows on all sides to display Jerry’s critical mind， creativity， personality， and philosophy through first-hand sources. I told Jerry about my ambitious project and sought his help with contact information. In March 2023， the University Press of Mississippi published Conversations with Jerry W. Ward Jr. Though I edited the book， I treated it as Jerry’s publication. Jerry also reviewed all interviews， which must have been an enduring job while he needed time to work on his writing project. This book offers Jerry’s impromptu intelligence and thoughtful response about literature， literary criticism， teaching， writing， experience， civil rights， black aesthetics， race， and culture. With this broad perspective， I felt lucky to pave a pathway for readers to approach Jerry， who was not just an esteemed and intelligent professor， writer， and scholar but also a dignified and modest human being whose charming personality glimmers through the moveable feast of his interviews with such images as a poet， mentor， intellectual， and proud child of his parents.

Jerry’s longtime friend Eugene B. Redmond， a noted poet， professor， and editor， interviewed Jerry in April 1995 during his visit to Jackson， Mississippi. The interview presents an image of Jerry as a purveyor and conveyor of literature and his thoughts about the characterization of the 1960s， contemporary literary criticism， teaching， and writing. But in the deep core of his heart teaching was his top priority and his foremost profession， as he said：

I hope that what we begin to talk about seriously in the profession is—for us， in black studies—how do we help these undergraduates to develop a very strong sense of why you talk about ideas， whether it’s literature， or you talk about what they seem to be committed to—rap， or whatever， you’re going to critique—how is this a part of social responsibility， as well as showing them that you have to have some real analytical skills. You have to have some skills in handling literature…you need to look at the words… when you talk about the soulular nature of things， that orality， you know， making people aware of language in its multiple possibilities—that should be what we do. （Redmond 13）

These words tell that as a devoted intellectual， Jerry challenged numerous students at home and abroad through academic learning， critical thinking， and scholarly writing. It was coincidental that on the same day when Jerry passed， a group of Tougaloo alumni， without knowing about Jerry’s passing， reminisced about Jerry as a strict teacher with high standards set up for students.

Redmond interviewed Jerry again during Jerry’s speaking tour to Southern Illinois University. We know Jerry was a Wright scholar， but how many know how Jerry became enthralled by Wright？ In this interview， Jerry talked about his first reading of Richard Wright at college and the exciting things to do for the Wright Centennial. He also vividly described a meeting with James Baldwin one afternoon on the Tougaloo campus. Jerry reflected， “And then when I met him I was petrified. I had seen pictures of him， but I hadn’t realized what his eyes did to people. When James Baldwin looked at you， he wasn’t looking at you; he was looking through you， or so I felt. So I was like transfixed across from him in this room， just hanging onto his words and afraid to say anything” （54-55）.

Jerry had some students at Tougaloo he always felt proud of. One is Howard Rambsy， now a Distinguished Research Professor at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. He did a significant interview with Jerry that focused on Jerry’s introduction to Black Boy， an important guide to understanding Richard Wright’s autobiography. Jerry said modestly that this introduction was not the platform to show him as an authority on Richard Wright but as an opportunity to introduce the text of a fellow Mississippian whose early life as an African American male who， in his words， was “so akin to my own at a psychological level” （17）. Jerry felt obliged as a black scholar to state what should not be forgotten： “In the case of Richard Wright， one tries to suggest that the scars of racism cannot be hidden by way of cosmetic surgery” （18）.

Jerry published The Katrina Papers： A Journal of Trauma and Recovery with the University of New Orleans Press in 2008. This autobiographic record offers his insight into history， spirituality， and race issues and his thoughts about life， anger， and grief brought along by the destructive hurricane. Jerry talked about the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in the interview with Kyle G. Dargan， “I had to try to deal， in some way or other， with that frustration for myself. And the only out I had was to write” （22）. As a result of this deal， The Katrina Papers was the emotional revelation that strengthened his spiritual mind. Unlike many well-known African American scholars who teach at non-historically black institutions， Jerry chose to teach at historically black colleges all his lifetime. He said that his way of giving back to the community was to teach at his alma mater （Tougaloo College） or another HBCU （Dillard University）. In an interview by Joshua Guild， Jerry asked a thought-provoking question that offers a window view of his critical mind： “[W]hy is it we say historically black and we never say historically white？” （43）. He believed there was a paradox in the identification issues， “You may always in certain ways be able to project the identity as the so-called historically black institution because you’re going back to matters of your origin， but your day-to-day practice may have a different kind of identity because it’s much more a part of what is going on in the twenty-first century” （43）.

Several Chinese scholars interviewed Jerry because his scholarship became widely known to them. Wang Zuyou went to New Orleans to interview Jerry as “a bridge between Chinese and American academic circles” who tried ”to promote cross-cultural discussions that are very necessary in the twenty-first century” （90）. Wang Yukuo interviewed Jerry in 2017. The comprehensive coverage of ethnic literature， race， black arts， gender， the civil rights movement， African American fiction， drama， and literary theory testified Jerry as a knowledgeable scholar and insightful observer of the existing racial issues. When asked about the relationship between race and literature， Jerry pointed out that “race is an extremely problematic idea， but race or a reasonable facsimile thereof can be located in the construction of many literatures throughout the world” and “what has changed with regard to late twentieth-century and early twenty-first-century literary criticism is the choice of seeing or not seeing the importance of race in literary analysis and interpretation” （133）.

To continue Jerry’s legacy， we should ask how much we know about Jerry’s other roles and thoughts. In 2016， Cleophus Thomas interviewed Jerry to highlight his life as a man of letters， his role as an anthology editor， his views about culture as evidence of civilization， his effort to find a genuine voice as a chief purveyor， curator， and advocate of African American culture， and his dedication to the study of Richard Wright. Jerry’s outspoken voice was loud about Americans’ unawareness of culture and their little investment “in trying to understand what it means to be an American.” Jerry emphasized， “We have a tremendous vein of anti-intellectualism that seems to be a part of the changing definition of what it is to be an American. To be an American is to not be interested in other languages. To be an American is to be suspicious of foreign cultures and of anyone who has any respect for foreign cultures” （97-98）. His assertion revealed an aspect of his critical thinking about culture and his international mind.

We also hear Jerry’s outspoken voice in his long conversation with Kalamu ya Salaam， a poet and activist in New Orleans. It covered extensive issues of politics， American presidents， the meaning of the national anthem and being American， the American Revolution， women’s liberation， the Black Arts Movement， black aesthetic， black culture， black media， civil rights， television shows， segregation， and political literature. One interesting note is that Jerry explained political literature as creative literature. He thought that “we can make a useful distinction between literature that overtly denies its political implications and literature that is at once aesthetic and covertly political so that we know to a better degree what we’re talking about. I don’t even know if our history of so-called literary struggle has any popularity or credibility anymore. Contradictions abound” （169）.

In short， Jerry’s interviews show his responsibilities as a contemporary scholar， professor， writer， and social critic. They are indispensable sources of American literature and African American studies. Although Jerry passed through this world， his voice will remain heard through his conversations to extend and enrich what has been expressed in his scholarly books and articles. Significantly， Jerry’s legacy remains in his interviews—his inner views that allow us to see into his mind， feel his heartbeat， and appreciate his wit. I know， and we all know Jerry will smile in heaven.

Note

All of Jerry’s quotations are from interviews by Kyle G. Dargan， Joshua Guild， Howard Rambsy， Eugene B. Redmond， Kalamu ya Salaam， Cleophus Thomas， Yukuo Wang， Zuyou Wang， and John Zheng， collected in Conversations with Jerry W. Ward Jr.

Works Cited

Ward， Jerry W. Jr. The China Lectures： African American Literary and Critical Issues. Wuhan： Central China Normal University Press， 2014.

Ward， Jerry W. Jr. “Introduction.” Black Boy. By Richard Wright. New York： Perennial Classics， 1998. xi-xix.

Zheng， John. Conversations with Jerry W. Ward Jr. Oxford： University Press of Mississippi， 2023.

Chronology

1943 Born Jerry Washington Ward， Jr. on July 31 in Washington， DC to Jerry W. Ward， Sr. and Mary Theriot Ward.

1949 Moves to Mississippi.

1952 Attends St. Peter the Apostle Catholic School in Pascagoula， Our Mother of Sorrows High School in Biloxi， and Magnolia High School in Moss Point， Mississippi

1960 Enters Tougaloo College as an early admissions student.

1964 Earns undergraduate degree in mathematics from Tougaloo College.

1966 Earns master’s degree in English from Illinois Institute of Technology; teaching fellow at State University of New York at Albany.

1968 U. S. Army， 4th Infantry Division （1968-1970）.

1970 Begins teaching as an instructor of English at Tougaloo College.

1973 Involved in the work of the Southern Black Cultural Alliance， a community theater coalition.

1974 Instructor in Transition Program at University of Virginia （Summer 1974）; receives United Negro College Fund Faculty Grant （1974-1975）; Advisory Editor of Obsidian （1974-1986）.

1975 Receives the Kent Fellowship for two years.

1976 Lecturer in English at University of Virginia （1976-1977）; Contributing Editor for Callaloo （1976-1984）.

1977 Serves as associate professor of English at Tougaloo College.

1978 Earns doctorate in English from University of Virginia; serves the Southern Black Cultural Alliance’s Executive Committee （1978-1983）; receives the Tougaloo College Outstanding Teaching Award （1978-1980）.

1979 Serves as chair of the English Department （1979-1986）.

1981 Receives the United Negro College Fund’s Distinguished Scholar Award; serves as a faculty member at NEH Institute on Southern Black Culture at Spelman College.

1982 Contributing Editor for Jackson Advocate （1982-1985）.

1983 Advisory Board Member of Project on the History of Black Writing （1983-2013）.

1984 Member of the Mississippi Humanities Council （1984-1988） and director for NEH Summer Seminar for College Teachers at Tougaloo College; serves as professor of English （1984-2002）.

1985 Program Officer， National Endowment for the Humanities.

1986 Advisory Editor for OBSIDIAN II （1986-1994）.

1987 Mississippi Advisory Committee for the US Commission on Civil Rights （1987-1997）; UNCF Scholar-in-Residence （1987-1988） and visiting professor of English at the University of Mississippi.

1988 Rosa Parks/Martin Luther King， Jr. Visiting Scholar at Wayne State University （Feb-Mar）; the Lawrence Durgin Professor of Literature at Tougaloo College （1988-2002）.

1990 Coedits Redefining American Literary History with A. LaVonne Brown Ruoff; cofounds the Richard Wright Circle with Maryemma Graham; coedits the Richard Wright Newsletter with Maryemma Graham; Program Director of Commonwealth Center for Literary and Cultural Change at University of Virginia.

1991 Advisory Editor， Black American Literature Forum （1991-1992）; Advisory Editor for New Literary History （1991-2002）; Advisory Editor for Drumvoices Review （1991-present）.

1992 Coedits Black Southern Voices with John Oliver Killens; Advisory Editor for African American Review （1992-2021）; PMLA Editorial Board （1992-1994）.; receives the Teacher of the Year Award from Tougaloo College

1993 Writes introduction to Richard Wright’s Black Boy （Harper Perennial）; Director for Faculty Resource Network Seminar at New York University; Editorial Board for Southern Cultures （1993-2001）.

1995 Receives Humanities Teacher Award from the Mississippi Humanities Council and Outstanding Research Scholar from Tougaloo College; Advisory Board of Profession （1995）; Editorial Board of The Mississippi Quarterly （1995-2020）.

1996 Serves as the Moss Chair of Excellence in English at University of Memphis.

1997 Receives Public Humanities Award from the Mississippi Humanities Council; coedits Trouble the Water： 250 Years of African American Poetry.

1999 Receives National Humanities Center Fellowship.

2000 Receives the Darwin T. Turner Award of Excellence from the African American Literature and Culture Society; Minority Scholar-in-Residence at Grinnell College; Advisory Board of Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration （2000-2015）.

2001 Inducted into the International Literary Hall of Fame for Writers of African Descent （Chicago State University）; chairman of Department of English at Tougaloo College （2001-2002）.

2002 Serves as Distinguished Professor of English and African American World Studies at Dillard University （2002-2012）.

2008 Coedits The Richard Wright Encyclopedia with Robert Butler; publishes The Katrina Papers： A Journal of Trauma and Recovery; Advisor Board Member of Valley Voices （2008-2013）.

2009 Visiting Fellow， Tanner Humanities Center at University of Utah （April）; Convener of Faculty Resource Network Seminar at New York University; Tougaloo College National Alumni Hall of Fame; keynote speaker at the conference on African American literature in China; Advisory Board of Engaged Writers Series， University of New Orleans Press （2009-2012）.

2010 Receives the Thad Cochran Humanities Achievement Award; Resident Scholar for NEH Institute at University of Kansas.

2011 Receives the Richard Wright Literary Excellence Award from the Natchez Literary and Cinema Celebration; coedits with Maryemma Graham The Cambridge History of African American Literature; Distinguished Overseas Professor at Central China Normal University （2011-2014）; Editorial Advisory Board of Journal of Ethnic American Literature （2011-2021）.

2012 Retires from Dillard University; Adjunct Researcher， Department of English at University of Kansas （2012-2013）.

2013 Resident Scholar， NEH Institute at the University of Kansas.

2014 Publishes The China Lectures： African American Literary and Critical Issues.

2015 Honorary Professor at Central China Normal University （2015-2017）.

2016 Publishes Fractal Song： Poems.

2018 Receives the Daryl Cumber Dance Award for Lifetime Achievement from the College Language Association; publishes Blogs and Other Writing.

2019 Editorial Board of The Langston Hughes Review （2019-present）.

2021 Receives the first annual Reginald Martin Award for Excellence in Criticism from PEN Oakland （August）; lead lecturer on the workshop on Emmett Till for Mississippi Valley State University’s grant project funded by the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area （November 8）.

2023 Conversations with Jerry W. Ward Jr. edited by John Zheng is published by the University Press of Mississippi.

2025 Dies on February 8 in New Orleans.

責任編輯：羅良功