Speaker

Writer

I'm Dr. Ashanté M. Reese, writer, anthropologist, and associate professor of African and African Diaspora at The University of Texas at Austin. My research and writing trace threads between Black geographies, food justice, and care to tell deeper stories about how history, place, and taste converge to create freedom and survival.

In all of my work, I consider the agency and assets of Black communities as a way to directly challenge one-dimensional models that frame blackness as inherently lacking. I look for what is present as well as what is absent and take seriously the idea that Black folks can teach us a lot about power and inequity but also collectivity and care. Whether I am writing about structural violence or how people gather around a meal, I am keenly interested in what connects us, what divides us, and how people craft lives amid so much uncertainty.

Below, you can explore my books, essays, and academic journal articles.

Writing

Facilitator

A good facilitator, in my opinion, needs to be a visionary with a well thought out plan and a person with the dexterity to pivot in any given moment when something goes wrong or isn’t resonating. As a Capricorn—part mountain-climbing goat, part water wayfaring fish—having enough vision to scale the seemingly insurmountable and the flexibility to chart a new course when the waves are too much, is part of my identity.

Facilitating is one of my superpowers.

When I am facilitating, I have one primary goal: help participants see one tiny piece of the world (or themselves) differently. It doesn’t matter if it is a workshop about starting archives, a journaling workshop about reclaiming pieces of ourselves, or a one-on-one coaching session, my job as a facilitator is to create a safe container for exploration. We laugh, sometimes people cry, we cultivate a space where every person has something to offer. Participants regularly comment on how comfortable they feel, even if they’re nervous at the beginning. I believe that sometimes the beginning of transformation begins when you say yes to a thing outside your comfort zone. When people take that step, I meet them there with a big welcome sign.

Abbreviated List of Workshop Topics:

Shifting Ground/Steady Ground:

A workshop for early career scholars who are trying to establish their identities, research and writing agendas, and professional relationships during so much uncertainty in academia.

Melanated Meditation:

A workshop for people of color who are interested in establishing a sustainable, long-term meditation practice that honors your ancestry and lineages.

Re-Member. Re-Imagine. Re-Story:

Journaling Toward Radical Acceptance: this creative workshop is for people who want to use older journal entries to tell new stories about themselves.

Archive Now:

This workshop is for anyone who doesn’t know what to do with those photos, funeral programs, church fans, journals, etc. that are sitting in boxes in your basement. Together, we will create a plan for how to document, organize, and store your precious things.

Other topics are available upon request. Do you have an idea for a workshop or gathering and think I’d be a great facilitator for it? Reach out!

Testimonials

"Dr. Ashanté Reese provided a wonderfully enriching workshop for graduate students, faculty and community members at TCU in Spring 2025. Her workshop “Community Archives and Black Digital Praxis” offered multi-layered engagement that included her modeling the kind of work she has done and how those of us could do this in our communities. Each participant was asked to bring something they feel is significant to archive – an artifact of their own cultural experiences and memory. This component moved the workshop from the philosophical to a practical application. Dr. Reese followed up the session with additional resources and further encouragement for our work. The feedback we received for this event was holistically enthusiastic. Participants felt energized to advance their work. This was an invaluable and immersive learning experience."

—Dr. Stacie McCormack, Department Chair, Comparative Race and Ethnic Studies/Women and Gender Studies, Texas Christian University
"She teaches in a way that is so familiar and accessible. She cares a lot about making sure her students think in new ways. So by entertaining conversations with students before and after class, organizing class outings, and offering to buy us a cup of coffee, she made me want to do well in order to respect her as she respects us. The use of multimedia helped keep things interesting. The assignments encouraged free thinking and creativity."

—Student from Black Geographies Course
"Ashanté offers a truly transformational coaching experience. She is a deep listener who intuitively surfaces powerful insights and gently guides clients to confront truth and move forward with practical, grounded solutions. She draws wisdom from her lived experience as a high-performing Black woman navigating historically unwelcoming spaces, which makes her coaching style both affirming and credible. She also has a delightful, welcoming presence that adds ease."

—Marquita Little Numan, Executive Director of Partnership for America’s Children
"Dr. Reese is a fabulous professor. She selected an appropriate amount of reading, and each text we read was both fascinating and eye-opening, leading to great in-class discussions. I also really appreciated the writing workshop assignments; having to present my writing to the class, present my research and receive feedback from my peers was tremendously useful for my project. Moreover, reading the work of other students and hearing the comments people had about these texts was illuminating as well, since most suggestions about other people's work also tended to help me with my own."

—Student from Black Studies Research Methods
"It has been my deepest honor to be coached by Ashante. She is so present and tuned in to me as we are moving through our session. I feel as if I can share my deepest struggles and insecurities and be met with compassion and care. I was able to dive deep and feel held through my whole experience and even share some laughs along the way, which was so refreshing. I always felt more grounded and centered after my sessions. I highly recommend Ashante as a coach."

—Bailey Harder
"Ashanté is a deft practitioner and I'm ironically feeling lost for words to express my gratitude and share the true impact of the session. It'll be ongoing. A necessary tether getting mended, connecting back to myself."

—Harper Haynes, participant in Journaling Toward Radical Acceptance workshop
"Thank you for this amazing workshop! I loved every bit & am sharing with others. Thank You Thank You Thank You!"

—Thayu Lou Hamer, participant in Journaling Towards Radical Acceptance workshop
"Ashanté has such an incredible coaching presence that allows for both depth and lightheartedness. She leads with so much curiosity and allows her intuition to be a powerful guide."

—Shirin Eskandani, Founder of Wholehearted Coaching
"I have endless positive things to say about this course and Dr. Reese. She switched up teaching styles to keep the class engaged (some days lecture, some days more discussion based). She is extremely caring about our well-being and created a Setting where every student was comfortable to share their opinion. Our readings were well organized, and the assignments made me enjoy learning."

—Student from Food in the Racialized City Course