Black Researcher, Educator, & Speaker
Advancing Justice and Cultural Memory
Holly E. BurgessPhD Candidate and Cyril E. Smith Fellow in the Department of English at Marquette University
PUBLIC NOTICE | FORMAL CEASE AND DESIST
holly burgess issues FORMAL CEASE & DESIST to Marquette university
Sun 04/05/26 10:03 PM
NOTICE OF RESCISSION
Monday, April 6, 2026 at 7:19 PM
ALL ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AND EXPRESSIONS OF GRATITUDE REGARDING MARQUETTE UNIVERSITY, ITS ADMINISTRATION, AND ITS DONOR NETWORKS ARE HEREBY FORMALLY RESCINDED.
This action is taken pending the outcome of a Federal Civil Rights and Whistleblower Audit.
This site and its associated research on "Transcribing Brutality" now serve as a record of administrative and fiduciary negligence. Any further unauthorized use of my likeness or intellectual property by the institution is subject to immediate legal action.
Research Overview
Black Resistance & Legacy
I am an interdisciplinary Black scholar-activist whose work intersects English, history, African American studies, Hip Hop studies, film studies, and gender and sexuality studies. I examine the enduring legacies of 20th and 21st-century Black social movements. I analyze how Black narratives of violence, martyrdom, and legacy are constructed and contested. By bridging archival recovery with contemporary media, I explore the ongoing influence of the Long Black Freedom Struggle across literary, auditory, and visual landscapes. My research links the radical archives of the past to current cultural resistance. In addition, I study LGBTQ+ narratives and their legacies.
PRIMARY RESEARCH
The Dissertation
Dissertation Title:
“Transcribing Brutality: Violence, Martyrdom, and Legacy in Black Literature and Social Movements”
I analyze the construction of martyrdom and violence within Black social movements. My dissertation spans from the mid-20th century to contemporary youth culture.
Writing Status:
Chapter Two: Dr. Huey P. Newton and The Black Panther Party
visit the dissertation page to learn more:
The Radical Archive
My methodology relies on archival recovery, examining the transcripts of Black resistance that inform our current Black Lives Matter Movement.
Key sites:
sUMMER 2026:
New York cITY, Archivial dissertation trip
The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture—New York Public Library
Columbia University
The Malcolm X & Dr. Betty Shabazz Memorial and Educational Center
Explore My Archival Research & Fieldwork:
Research portfolio
Upcoming presentation:
“‘To Live and Die for the People’”: Huey P. Newton’s Revolutionary Suicide as Black Martyrdom and the Black Panther Party Afterlives”
American Literature Association
37th Annual Conference
May 20-23, 2026
Explore the digital archive: Where historical research meets contemporary media projects:
View my published scholarship to see how I trace the evolution of Black activism from the archives to contemporary literature.
View my teaching philosophy and course materials to see how archival research and digital projects inform my student-centered pedagogy.
My poetry explores Black thought, identity, history, and Black love.
For media inquiries, headshots, and official bios, please visit my Press and Press Kit pages.
Conference Presentations
For a full breakdown of my dissertation research and a list of related presentations, visit my dissertation project page and my CV.
Permanent Section: Antiracism
Resistance and Renewal: Reimagining Narratives of Black History and Culture Panel
Midwest Modern Language Association Annual Conference
Marquette University
“‘Our Black Shining Prince: Black Resilience and Hope in
The Autobiography of Malcolm X and Spike Lee’s Malcolm X”
2025
“‘Only Black Blood Drippin’’: African American Communal Identity, Police Brutality, and Violence in Rapsody’s and Tupac Shakur’s Music”
2022
Permanent Section: African American Literature
Black Resistance through Aesthetics Panel
Midwest Modern Language Association Annual Conference
“Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen’: Black Women Empowerment and Revolutionary Freedom in Krystin Ver Linden’s Alice (2022)”
2022
Studies in Twentieth-Century and Contemporary Cinema Panel
Midwest Modern Language Association Annual Conference
Minneapolis, MN
“‘All I Have to Give the World is Me’”: Queer Identity Development, Homophobia, and Escapism in Sara and Tegan Quin’s memoir, High School”
2021
Invited Lecturer, Soup with Substance: A Lunchtime Speaker Series on Topics of Justice and Peace
Campus Ministry and Center for Urban Research, Teaching, and Outreach (CURTO), Marquette University.