Dr. Patricia Reid-Merritt – author, educator, scholar, community activist and performing artist - is the Distinguished Professor of Social Work and Africana Studies at Stockton University in Galloway, New Jersey.  She is the author of numerous publications, including: Sister Power: How Phenomenal Black Women Are Rising to the Top; Sister; Tarnished Legacy: A Reluctant Memoir;Righteous Self-Determination: The Black Social Work Movement in America; Race in America: How a Pseudo-Scientific Concept Shaped Human Interaction;  and  A State by State History of Race and Racism in the United States. Dr.  Reid-Merritt is also the Founder and Artistic/Executive Director of Afro-One Dance, Drama and Drum Theatre, Inc., a community-based cultural and performing arts organization currently celebrating its 45th year of operation.