Holly E. Burgess, a doctoral candidate at Marquette University, has been named a recipient of the Cyril E. Smith Trust Smith Family Fellowship, a recognition that highlights both her academic work and the personal experiences that have shaped her path as a researcher, writer, and Black scholar-activist.
Burgess, an eighth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Department of English, studies British, American, and Global Anglophone Literatures, with specialization in 20th- and 21st-century African American literature, Hip Hop studies, and film studies. Her dissertation, titled “Transcribing Brutality: Violence, Martyrdom, and Legacy in Black Literature and Social Movements,” examines how four generations of Black scholar-activists respond to state violence, lynching, martyrdom, and legacy through narrative. “My research is rooted in Black history, music, and culture,” Burgess said. “I am interested in Black intellectual ancestry.”
Her work links Malcolm X, Dr. Huey P. Newton, Tupac Shakur, and Angie Thomas through a shared intellectual lineage, showing how each used storytelling and cultural production as forms of resistance. Burgess argues that these figures, often studied separately, are connected by a tradition of reframing violence and surveillance into calls for justice and human rights. At the center of her project is Malcolm X, whose response to the 1962 killing of Ronald Stokes serves as a key foundation for her framework, later inherited and adapted by Newton, Shakur, and Thomas in ways that continue to shape responses to anti-Black violence in literature, activism, and public discourse.
Burgess’s interest in the field is deeply personal. She credits her late father, Gregory Burgess, a Black Vietnam-era Army veteran, with introducing her to Black literature, history, and culture through books, poetry, and handmade gifts during Black History Month. “He would buy me books on Black history or recommend activists for me to research,” she said. His influence, together with the killing of Trayvon Martin and the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, strengthened her commitment to researching and raising awareness of state violence targeting Black Americans.
As a resident of Kenosha, Burgess also witnessed the militarized protests of 2020, reinforcing her dedication to Black activism and peacemaking. Her dissertation highlights youth culture and marginalized voices while challenging portrayals that reduce figures such as Malcolm X, Newton, and Tupac solely to violence. By analyzing Hip Hop and young adult literature alongside traditional texts, her work expands the Black literary canon and explores how artistic production shapes cultural memory and public understandings of social justice movements.
Burgess said she was drawn to Marquette University because it allowed her to remain close to family while pursuing graduate study in a strong mentorship environment. She was initially attracted by Dr. Cedric Burrows’s scholarship but said her visit with Dr. John Curran confirmed that Marquette was the right fit.
Awarded by Marquette’s Graduate School, the competitive Smith Fellowship supports doctoral students who demonstrate mastery in their field, high academic achievement, and provide time for sustained research and writing. For Burgess, the fellowship has allowed her to focus on composing her dissertation, presenting her work at conferences, and preparing research for publication, thereby advancing her academic career and research goals.
She credits her growth to the mentorship of Dr. Cedric Burrows, Dr. Robert S. Smith, Dr. Jason Farr, and Dr. John Curran, noting their guidance and encouragement have supported her development as a scholar-activist. She encourages other graduate students to pursue fellowships like the Smith Fellowship, highlighting the opportunity to strengthen research, develop skills, and engage with broader communities.
Outside of her academic work, Burgess enjoys collecting vinyl records, writing poetry, watching films, attending concerts, and spending time with her cockapoo, Presley. She recently presented part of her Malcolm X chapter at the Midwest Modern Language Association 2025 annual convention. In May, she will present an excerpt of her Dr. Huey P. Newton dissertation chapter at the American Literature Association’s annual conference in Chicago. For her dissertation, she is planning a doctoral archival research trip to New York City in August 2026, which is supported by the Dr. Diane L. Hoeveler Fellowship Fund and the Center for Peacemaking’s Student Peacemaking Fellowship. In November, she will be the Chair of the Postcolonial and Decolonial Studies Permanent Section at the 2026 MMLA convention. She is preparing several journal articles for publication as she continues building a career centered on research, teaching, public humanities, and activism.
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