Cecily Marcus is the curator of the Givens Collection of African-American Literature at the University of Minnesota, and Director of the new Umbra Search which “makes African American history more broadly accessible through a freely available widget and search tool, umbrasearch.org; digitization of African American materials across University of Minnesota collections; and support of students, educators, artists, and the public through residencies, workshops, and events locally and around the country.” She holds a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities and a B.A. in Spanish Literature and Women’s Studies from Cornell University.