Daina Ramey Berry

Dr. Daina Ramey Berry is the Michael Douglas Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts and Professor of History at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). Previously, she served as Oliver H. Radkey Regents Professor and Chair of History at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research focuses on gender and slavery, Black women’s history, and U.S. history. She holds a Ph.D. in African American Studies and U.S. History from UCLA.

Her major works include A Black Women’s History of the United States (2020), which redefines U.S. history through Black women’s perspectives, and The Price for Their Pound of Flesh (2017), analyzing economic valuations of enslaved individuals. She has received prestigious awards such as the Susan Koppelman Award and NEH fellowships. Berry is also a consultant for museums and historical sites, including Montpelier Plantation, and has advised on TV projects like the ROOTS remake (HISTORY/A+E).

Her research extends to reparations advocacy, public history initiatives, and educational outreach. She co-edits the Russell Sage Foundation’s Black Reparations series and contributes to The Journal of African American History. Berry volunteers in K-12 education, developing curricula and serving as a lead author for McGraw Hill textbooks. She has testified before U.S. and California legislative bodies on slavery’s legacy and reparations.