EMU Today

YPSILANTI – Melvin Peters, a professor of African American Studies at Eastern Michigan University, began his long teaching career in Detroit during the time of the 1967 rebellion.

Professor Peters, who was 22 then, is available as an informed and insightful interview source on the dynamics and events associated with that summer in Detroit.  

He vividly recalls the situation prior to the rebellion and the conditions that led to it, along with the social-political and racial-ethnic conditions at the time and how they relate to today. He can also discuss how the unresolved nature of relevant human rights issues continues to affect people now, 50 years later.

Peters, who began at Eastern in 1992, taught previously at Wayne County Community College, Michigan State University and in the public schools of Detroit and Columbus. 

He holds a B.A. degree in English and Spanish from Marshall University in his home town of Huntington, West Virginia. He holds M.A. and PHD degrees in American Literature (specializing in all genres of African American Literature) from Michigan State University. 

At EMU, Peters teaches a multidisciplinary spectrum of African American Studies courses.  He specializes in the cultural history and cultural continuity of the expanse of the African Diaspora, as expressed in literature, music, and film and their relationship to social movements.  His courses include “Hip Hop Lyricism in African American Culture” and “Films In The African American Experience.” 

He has a long record of service to student organizations, both as a faculty advisor and as a speaker or panel member.

He has published occasional poetry and scholarly essays on subjects such as The Harlem Renaissance, Hip Hop as a Pedagogical Tool, Slave Rebellion Depiction in African American Literature and The Poetry of Curtis Mayfield.

Professor Peters can be reached at mpeters1@emich.edu

About Eastern Michigan University

Founded in 1849, Eastern is the second oldest university in Michigan. It currently serves 22,000 students pursuing undergraduate, graduate, specialist, doctoral and certificate degrees in the arts, sciences and professions. In all, more than 300 majors, minors and concentrations are delivered through the University's Colleges of Arts and Sciences; Business; Education; Health and Human Services; Technology, and its graduate school. EMU is regularly recognized by national publications for its excellence, diversity, and commitment to applied education. For more information about Eastern Michigan University, visit the University's website.