Dr. Sabiyha Prince

Dr. Sabiyah Prince advises Illuminated Cities with its community development curriculum, with a focus on urban design. She is a cultural anthropologist whose writing and research examines contemporary and historical African American life and culture in the US.  Her particular focus has been on how inequality shapes the conditions, experiences, identity, and status of Black people living in cities.  She is the author of Constructing Belonging (2004) and African Americans and Gentrification in Washington, DC (2014). Prince has also published journal and web-based articles on the Black middle class in Harlem, New York, urban redevelopment in New York, African American diversity, and African Americans and comedy.  She was also an assistant professor of anthropology at American University for 12 years. In addition to her work as an author and an educator, Prince has worked on numerous community-based research projects in both Washington, D.C. and New York City.  She is also a seasoned activist/organizer, first cutting her teeth in the anti-apartheid movement, and then making contributions to anti-war and environmental justice efforts, working at The Washington Office on Africa, Black Voices for Peace, and Greenpeace, USA.