Jamal Burns

Biography

Jamal Burns, St. Louis, is a David M. Rubenstein Scholar at Duke University studying History with a concentration in Women and Sexuality Studies. His senior thesis research focuses on interpretations of Black boy masculinity in schools and how these understandings are influenced by colonialism. Burns was recently named a Duke Faculty Scholar, the university's highest undergraduate honor. A Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, Burns was the sole undergraduate representative on the History Department's Race in the Curriculum task force, a national qualifier in slam poetry, three-term president of his dorm, and served as co-president of Duke LIFE (Low-income, First-generation Engagement). His efforts as a student leader with Duke LIFE have been instrumental in creating an office within the university dedicated to aiding low-income, first-generation students.