I am an African American Studies instructor at Laney College. I received my M.A. in African American Studies from University of California, Los Angeles, and my B.A. in Journalism from Howard University. I am currently a doctoral student to earn an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at California State University, Fresno. I served in the U.S. Peace Corps twice, in both Botswana and Guyana. I have an intersectional approach to teaching that centers social justice and community involvement. I challenge students to think critically about the overlapping identities of race, sexualities, class, genders, social status and work toward dismantling systems of oppression. I create a classroom environment that privileges the experiences of people from marginalized communities. I inspire students to learn using a global lens and center Black experiences throughout the African diaspora. I am faculty in Laney’s Umoja-UBAKA student success program. I was awarded as a member of the inaugural class of 20 emerging leaders under 40 in her hometown of Merced, CA in 2017. I am a 2020 Stanford Global Studies Education Partnership for Internationalizing Curriculum (EPIC) fellow. Member of Peralta Association of African American Affairs. Laney Faculty Academic Senate member. Most recently, I received the 2023-2024 Kremen Student Equity Scholar Doctoral Award at CSU Fresno. I enjoy bike rides, camping, and trap music.

Publication: African Studies Quarterly Book Review: Anna Aulette-Root, Floretta Boonzaier, and Judy Aulette. 2014. South African Women Living with HIV: Global Lessons from Local Voices. Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. 166 pp.

Email: dgrisby@peralta.edu

Office: Tower-602

Phone Number: 510-464-3360

Fall 2o2o 8-Week Course Alert!

Fall 2020 Courses:

All Fall 2020 courses will be taught 100% online using Canvas.

Fall 2020 course promotion video:

At the 2019 statewide Umoja Conference at Oakland Marriott

Spring 2020 AFRAM 26: African American Culture: Black Music, Art, Literature field trip to the Betti Ono Gallery in downtown Oakland (Umoja class)