Jacquelyn Benton
1901 E. 13th Avenue # 3F
Denver, CO 80206
H: 303-398-2701 C: 720-301-1883
johnsonlegacy@msn.com
Education
Major
Degree
African Languages & Literature
University of Wisconsin
Madison, WI 53706
M.A.
1997
English
University of Northern Colorado
Greeley, CO 80639
M.A.
1974
English
University of Northern Colorado
Greeley, CO 80639
B.A.
1970
Professional Experience - College
Date
Employer
Dates
Courses Taught / Duties
Metropolitan State College
Denver, CO 80217
8/98 – Present
African American Lit
Children’s Literature
African Authors
Black Women Writers
Gullah Experience
African Diaspora
Harlem Renaissance
University of Colorado
Denver, CO 80217
Spring 2009
Summer 2006
Diversity in American Lit
Community College of Denver
Denver, CO 80217
Spring 2006
Developmental English
Writing Tutor
Community College of Aurora
Aurora, CO 80011
1/99 – 5/99
Developmental English
Writing Tutor
Jacquelyn Benton (2)
Edgewood College
Madison, WI 53711
8/93 – 5/98
Developmental English
English Composition
Lit of American Minorities
Commonwealth Lit
Freshman Forum
University of Wisconsin
Madison, WI 53706
Spring 1997
African American Studies
Spring 1995
Intro to African Lang & Lit
Summer 1994
Black Feminisms
Metropolitan State College
Denver, CO 80217
1/92 – 12/92
Freshman Composition
Intro to Children’s Lit
Writing Center Tutor
University of Northern Colorado
Greeley, CO 80639
8/91 – 12/92
African Literature
Afro-American History
Survey of Africa
The Black Woman
Community College of Aurora
Aurora, CO 80011
1/87 – 4/91
Developmental English
English Composition
Professional Experience – Secondary
Smoky Hill High School
Aurora, CO 80015
6/87 – 8/88
Reading
Hinkley High School
Aurora, CO 80011
8/81 – 9/85
English & Yearbook
Gateway High School
Aurora, CO 80012
8/75 – 8/81
English
Reading
Gove Junior High
Denver, CO 80220
9/71 – 8/73
English
Reading
Jacquelyn Benton (3)
Related Professional Experience
Zoe Management Consultants
Boulder, CO 80304
1990 – 1991
Facilitator for Writing
Fundamentals Training at
Head Start, Environmental
Protection Agency, and
Kaiser Permanente
Community Tech Skills Center
Denver, CO 80207
6/85 – 5/86
Business English
Professional Development Activities
July 2005
Penn Center Gullah Studies Institute
St Helena Island, SC 29920
Attended the Gullah Studies Institute at Penn Center in order to gather more
academic resources in Gullah culture for The Gullah Experience, a new course I
would be teaching in the fall. The Institute brought in local and national
teachers and scholars of Gullah history and culture, a distinctive African
American culture that has continued its African traditions and customs.
April 2005
Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture
College of Charleston
Charleston, SC 29424
Traveled to Charleston, South Carolina, to spend time at the Avery Center, in
preparation for bringing Denver Metro students and community members there
in November 2005 as part of The Gullah Experience course.
May 2004
Sapelo Island, Georgia
Traveled to Sapelo Island in Georgia to visit Hog Hammock, the last remaining
Gullah community on the island; gathered resources from the Sapelo Island
Cultural and Revitalization Society (SICARS), and from local historian/author,
Cornelia Walker Bailey.
Jacquelyn Benton (4)
November 2003
Penn Center Heritage Days
St. Helena Island, South Carolina
Traveled to the Penn Center on St. Helena Island, South Carolina, to attend the
Heritage Days Symposium, where I would be bringing Denver Metro students
and community members as part of The Gullah Experience course.
July 2003
Penn Center
St. Helena Island, South Carolina
Traveled to the Penn Center on St. Helena Island, South Carolina, to conduct
research on the first school established for former slaves during the Civil War
and to gain more knowledge of Gullah history and culture; participated with a
group of educators from Kenyon College in Ohio.
Service Activities – Community
2008
Gullah Studies Tour
Coordinated trip to Charleston, South Carolina, for fourteen community members
from Denver, CO, to extend their knowledge of Gullah history and culture.
2007
Penn Center Heritage Days Celebration
Coordinated trip to Savannah, Georgia, and St. Helena, South Carolina, for a
twenty-seven member group comprised of college students and community
members from Denver, Colorado, to introduce them to Gullah culture.
Gullah Studies Institute
Coordinated the first Gullah Studies Institute in the Metropolitan Denver area,
which brought in eight presenters from South Carolina, Georgia, and Virginia.
University of Colorado at Denver – Lunch, Learn, & Link Lecture Series
Lecturer: “Gullah Culture: An Important Piece of African American History”
Rocky Mountain Arsenal
Keynote Speaker: “From Slavery to Freedom: Africans in the Americas”
DignityDenver & Denver Educational Senior Citizens
Keynote Speaker: “Gullah History & Culture”
Jacquelyn Benton (5)
2006
Brother Jeff’s Cultural Center & Café
Guest Lecturer: “Who Dat Gullah?”
2005
Penn Center Heritage Days Celebration
Coordinated trip to Charleston, South Carolina, and St. Helena, South Carolina,
for a 20-member group, comprised of college students and community members
from Denver, Colorado, so that they might experience Gullah culture directly.
African/Caribbean Heritage Camp
Keynote Speaker: “The African Diaspora”
Full Circle Inter-Generational Project, Inc.
Keynote Speaker: “Who Dat Gullah?”
New Covenant Christian Church
Guest Lecturer: “Harlem Renaissance to Hip Hop”
Panelist: “Black Legends: Byron “Mex” Johnson “
2004
African American Heritage Camp
Keynote Speaker: “African American Leaders”
Denver University VIVE Program for Lifelong Learners
Guest Lecturer: “Africa and the Diaspora”
2000 – Present
Johnson Legacy, Inc. Nonprofit Organization
President/Chair
Byron & Christine Johnson Lecture/Discussion Series
Facilitator
Service Activities – Auraria Campus
2006
Black History Month
Coordinator of Joseph Opala’s Denver visit (Gullah/Sierra Leone Connection)
Jacquelyn Benton (6)
2005
Faculty Senate/Search committee for Chair of African American Studies
Black History Month
Introduction of keynote speaker Carlotta LaNier (Little Rock 9)
Coordinator of Tony Gleaton’s Denver visit (African Presence in Mexico)
2004
Martin Luther King Peace Breakfast
Peace Celebrant (Facilitator)
Black History Month
Coordinator of William Loren Katz’s Denver visit (Black Indians)
Ceremony for African American Graduates
Keynote Speaker: “The Gullah Experience”
2003
Black History Month
Introduction of Women’s Studies Bridge Speaker: Paule Marshall
Coordinator of Bina Sharif’s Denver visit (Afghan Woman)
University of Colorado at Denver Health Services Disability Office
Recordings of African American literature for students with Visual Impairments
Consulting Activities
JBenton Educational Consulting
Director
2008
Women’s History Month Speaker
“Journey to the Lowcountry: The Gullah Experience” & “Exploring Womanism”
Edgewood College
Madison, WI 53711
2005
Workshop facilitator for teachers in Cherry Creek Schools
“Teaching Black History with Children’s Books”
Denver, CO 80015
Jacquelyn Benton (7)
Academic Publications
Bio of Gloria Naylor and Critiques of Bailey’s Café and The Men of Brewster Place
Critical Survey of Long Fiction, Revised Edition
Pasadena: Salem Press, 2000
“Ellison’s Peter Wheatstraw”
WARPLAND: A Journal of Black Literature and Ideas Vol 3 #1 1997
Gwendolyn Brooks Center for Black Literature & Creative Writing
Chicago: Chicago State U, 1997
Bio of Bebe Moore Campbell and Critique of Your Blues Ain’t Like Mine
Identities and Issues in Literature
Pasadena: Salem Press, 1997
Additional Educational Experience
Advanced Swahili Language Study
Tanzania, East Africa
Summer 1995
Awards
National Council for Black Studies Civic & Community Education and Engagement
Grant for Gullah Studies Institute
Denver, CO 80217
March 2007
Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace Award
Metropolitan State College of Denver
Denver, CO 80217
January 2005
Fuller, Kent, Turner, Gayle Award for Literary Criticism
Gwendolyn Brooks Center Awards
Chicago, IL 60628
October 1996