Dr. Nishani Frazier

About Dr. Frazier
Dr. Frazier’s life has always been deeply connected to the Civil Rights Movement. Raised by activist parents, she recalls attending organizing meetings as an infant and hearing chants of “Black Power” before she could even speak. “There was never a time I wasn’t immersed in the movement,” she says.

Today, Dr. Frazier is a Professor of History and the Director of Public History at North Carolina State University. A respected scholar and author, her work explores the ongoing impact of the Civil Rights Movement. Her book Harambee City is one of several publications that examine Black activism and community building. Her forthcoming work focuses on recipes authored by Africans across the globe, blending cultural history with storytelling.

Family Legacy
Dr. Frazier’s commitment to justice is rooted in the lives of her parents. Her father, John Frazier, was raised in Mississippi, where he met NAACP Field Secretary Medgar Evers and began his own work with the organization. Her mother, Pauline Warfield, was shaped by the Black Power populism of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in Cleveland, Ohio. The couple later moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, to help build Soul City, a planned community rooted in civil rights ideals, and remained active in the fight for equality throughout their lives.

In the Documentary
As both a scholar and the daughter of Civil Rights activists, Dr. Frazier offers a powerful and personal perspective in the documentary. She describes Civil Rights workers as “domestic soldiers” who were often mistreated by the very systems they sought to reform. She advocates for this generation of activists to receive the same level of healthcare and recognition afforded to military veterans. With a deep understanding of both the history and the human cost of the movement, Dr. Frazier brings clarity and compassion to the story of the struggle for justice in America.