Amelia Dewberry-
This week’s Gustie of the Week is Assistant Professor of African American History, Kate Aguilar. Aguilar teaches African American History I, African American History II, The Black Athlete in America, and Hip Hop and the Black 1980s. Next year she will teach a signature experience on Atlantic Slavery and Freedom.
Aguilar’s interest in African American history started when she was growing up in The Region in a town next to Gary, Indiana. This is one of the most racially segregated areas in the country due to its history dating back to the early 1900s. “The United States Steel Corporation founded Gary in 1906, then recruited Black southerners during the interwar period because of the disruption of European migration and the recruitment of almost one-fourth of the city’s White mill workers for war. The steel mills employed more Black laborers than any other business in the area but simultaneously worked with local governments to ensure segregated public and private institutions,” Aguilar explained.
While she didn’t always know this history, she felt it: “I lived in an almost all-White sundown town that spoke of race and place by linking Black bodies and urban decay and White bodies and American possibility. I was raised during the Reagan Era when we weren’t meant to speak of race at all; it was the dawn of colorblindness.” Aguilar said, “And yet, I recognized that Michael Jordan was often described as more than a Black athlete, as transcending race, as if to be Black was unacceptable, nothing but a problem.’” She thought about this so often that she was determined to find out why this framing of Black and White existed.
Aguilar went to a small, private, liberal arts college like Gustavus where she took Intro to Black Studies. The class changed her life because it gave her a lens to understand her childhood and herself in a way that she didn’t know was possible. Aguilar went on to major in Black Studies.
She taught at under-resourced schools in Compton, California, and St. Louis, Missouri to bear witness and put the theories she had learned into practice. Aguilar continued to earn her Master’s and Ph.D. where she learned that she was passionate about race and sport in the 1980s.
“I chose Gustavus because it was one of the few schools in the U.S. that offered me the opportunity to teach African American and sport history. Many schools treat these histories as sidenotes or add-ons. Gustavus does not, which is an incredible gift for me and the students,” Aguilar said. Her favorite part of the job is students, “[they] engage most fully with the historical perspectives of Black Americans and believe them. I am so touched by students who tell me what they hope to do with this class in the future, and I know they will change the world because they have already changed mine.”
One of these students is First-year Claire Emmons. Emmons went into Aguilar’s office hours to chat about a subject she was interested in. Aguilar had articles printed out for her, and they talked for quite a while. “This was just so considerate, and sitting down and talking with her one on one really made me realize how much she cared for the subject and her students,” Emmons said.
Emmons appreciates that Aguilar makes an effort to get to know every student. She explained, “Walking into her class is so refreshing especially if you’ve had a bad day. Her lectures are so interesting, she loves telling us stories, and you can tell that everyone else loves her as well. She is by far the most passionate professor I have had so far.” Aguilar is an inspiration to Emmons, and she hopes that everyone has an opportunity to take one of her classes.
In her free time, Aguilar finds joy in running. She loves watching her three rambunctious kids play sports and watching TV shows with her husband. However, Aguilar said “Most of all, I love being a part of a community. I get such joy out of supporting Gustavus and St. Peter’s sports and the arts. I am a big fan of being everyone’s biggest fan.”
Aguilar wants everyone to know that if you ever need someone in your corner, to come see her. “I care very deeply about being a student advocate and, if you need one, I love giving hugs,” Aguilar said.