G. Jasper Conner

Bio

Jasper works on the history of disabled African Americans in the modern U.S. South. Combining archival research with oral history, his work uncovers the lived experiences of Black disabled people at residential schools, at work, and in the community. His work is informed by the birth of his second child, who is Deaf.

Jasper published “Education of Deaf and Blind African Americans in Virginia, 1909-2008” as a part of the Social Welfare History Project with Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries in 2022. He is on the Board of Directors of the Disability History Association. He has presented research at the annual conferences for the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, the Labor and Working-Class History Association, the Southern Labor Studies Association, and the Organization of American Historians. His research has been supported by the Archie K. Davis Fellowship, Kentucky Historical Society Research Fellowship, VCU Publishing Research Award, and the William P. Heidrich Research Fellowship. Jasper received his BA from Virginia Commonwealth University in African American Studies in 2016.