Hip Hop, the 1980s, and National Protest

Dr. Nicholas Mays is an Assistant Professor of History at Baldwin Wallace University. After growing up on the west side of Cleveland, Mays earned a bachelor’s degree from Baldwin Wallace and then a master’s and his PhD in history from Kent State University – which is where we crossed paths – we were both in a post-colonial seminar there taught by Dr. Shane Strate.

Dr. Mays’ chief scholarly interests are 19th and 20th century America, and the African-American experience from the 17th century to present and Colonial Africa. His particular focus is on American slavery and the black experience, civil rights activism in the North, post-1965 black freedom struggles, hip-hop music and activism, and urban America.