About
The Black Massacre Project is a public research center and social action initiative dedicated to uncovering and preserving the history of Black massacres and racial terror in the United States, expanding public understanding of their enduring consequences, and advancing accountability and repair.
Our Mission
To ensure that the history and enduring consequences of Black massacres and racial terror are fully documented, publicly understood, and meaningfully addressed.
Our Vision
To establish The Black Massacre Project as the definitive national center for Black massacre history, with a permanent body of research, publications, exhibitions, educational resources, and public programming that shapes how this history is studied, taught, remembered, and addressed.
Our Team
Kenya Tyson
Founder and Executive Director
Kenya Tyson is the founder and executive director of The Black Massacre Project. A native of Wilmington, North Carolina, site of the 1898 Wilmington Massacre and coup, she brings both a personal and scholarly connection to the history at the center of the Project’s work. A scholar, educator, strategist, and higher education executive, Tyson’s work spans race, law, criminal justice, institutional leadership, public policy, and the enduring consequences of racial inequality.
Tyson has taught, conducted research, and held senior academic and executive leadership roles at Dartmouth College, The New School, Rutgers University-Newark, Trinity Washington University, and Springfield College. Her work has included leading complex institutional portfolios, shaping strategy and policy, advancing research and public scholarship, and developing initiatives focused on equity, access, and institutional change.
A Fulbright Scholar, Tyson is also a recognized leader in the legal and civic communities. She is the 49th president of the Garden State Bar Association, serves on the New Jersey Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Access and Fairness, and served as Co-Chair of the Public Education and Narrative Committee of the New Jersey Reparations Council. Her leadership has been recognized through honors including the New Jersey Law Journal’s Diverse Attorney of the Year and the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award and Gold Medallion from the Descendants of Rosewood Foundation, Inc., awarded for her research contributions and social justice initiatives related to historic Black massacres.
Through The Black Massacre Project, Tyson brings together scholarship, public history, institutional strategy, and social action to build a national platform for documenting Black massacre history, examining its continuing consequences, and advancing accountability and repair.
Tyson earned her JD from Delaware Law School, an MS in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati, and a BA in Political Science from Winston-Salem State University.
Ashlie Claxton, MPA
Associate Director of Operations
Ashlie Claxton serves as Associate Director of Operations for The Black Massacre Project. Her background includes nonprofit administration, public service, education, and organizational operations.
Claxton earned both her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Public Administration from Rutgers University-Newark, where she served as President of the Black Organization of Students, was a Braven Fellow, and was a member of Pi Alpha Alpha.
Iris King
Creative Operations Associate
Iris King serves as Creative Operations Associate for The Black Massacre Project. A multimedia professional and multidisciplinary artist, her background includes journalism, digital media, branding, marketing, and creative production.
Her professional experience includes work in media production, artist development, marketing, and political education and advocacy. King earned a BA in Journalism with a minor in Psychology from Rutgers University.
Kenyéla Renée Horn
Program Coordinator
Kenyéla Renée Horn serves as Program Coordinator for The Black Massacre Project. Her experience includes public policy, political engagement, nonprofit work, and community advocacy.
She has worked with organizations and campaigns including Project Ready NJ, Senator Cory Booker’s presidential campaign, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, and the office of Congresswoman Bonnie Watson Coleman. Horn studied Public Administration and Affairs at Rutgers University-Newark.
For inquiries, please contact us