Elijah Gaddis (elijah@unc.edu) is co-founder and co-director of the CHW and assistant professor of history at Auburn University. He holds a BA in English, summa cum laude, from North Carolina State University, and MA in Folklore and PhD. in American Studies from UNC. He was one of two PhD students to receive the 2017 GEAB Impact Award bestowed by the UNC Graduate School on graduate students whose research is benefiting North Carolina’s citizens and communities. A longtime public historian, his research interests span the built landscapes, cultural, and material life of the American south. His current project focuses on the emergence of African American celebratory culture in the urban landscapes of the 20th century south. He is the first person to be awarded the Graduate Certificate Program in Digital Humanities at UNC Chapel Hill. He played a lead role in Digital Loray, particularly the building of its online archive and other exhibits. Since 2015, he has worked with CHW co-founder Seth Kotch on Red Record, which documents lynching in North Carolina.
