On June 26, 2024, the American Sociological Association (ASA) honored Monica White, University of Wisconsin–Madison associate professor, with its Distinguished Career Award for the Practice of Sociology. The award recognizes “outstanding contributions to sociological practice with work that has served as a model for the work of others; that has elevated the professional status or public image of the field; or that has been widely recognized for its significant impacts, particularly in advancing human welfare.”
White joined the UW–Madison faculty in 2012 with a joint appointment in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences Department of Community and Environmental Sociology.
In announcing the award, ASA described White as “a leading scholar of Black sociology, widely lauded for her creative and justice-oriented academic research, her effective promotion of agroecological education for Black students, and her real-world impact on food justice organizations and Black farming.”
The organization also pointed to her groundbreaking debut book, Freedom Farmers: Agricultural Resistance and the Black Freedom Movement (University of North Carolina Press, 2018), which “reclaims the role of land and Black agriculture from slavery narratives and emphasizes a form of resistance through community-led development.”
Read ASA’s full story on White and learn more about the awards.