Nell Irvin Painter
[5] Her mother held a degree from Houston College for Negroes (1937) and later taught in the public schools of Oakland, California.Her father had to drop out of college in 1937 during the Great Depression; he eventually trained for work as a laboratory technician.During her undergraduate years, she studied French medieval history at the University of Bordeaux, France, 1962–63.In 1990–91 she was acting director of Princeton's Program in Afro-American Studies, and in 1991 she was named the Edwards Professor of American History.Her latest essay (from 2020, called My Corona Occupation) is about her experience with making art and writing during the pandemic.