BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Imani Tafari-Ama, born in Manchester Parish, Jamaica, on August 1, 1960, is a multifaceted Jamaican cultural anthropologist, author, womanist, journalist, and Pan-African multi-media researcher. As a modern-day Griot, she embodies the traditional African role of memory-keeper and storyteller. In this capacity, she advocates for the use of audio-visual and print media as essential tools for historical and anthropological archiving.
Dr. Tafari-Ama holds a Ph.D. in Development Studies from the International Institute of Social Studies at Erasmus University, The Hague (2002), a Master's in Women and Development Studies (1989), and a Bachelor's degree in Communication with Language and Literature (1982). Her academic career has spanned several institutions and continents, where she has taught courses on feminism, Rastafari, gender, and cultural development.
She served as a lecturer at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona Campus from 2004 to 2015, and later as a Research Fellow at the Institute for Gender and Development Studies at UWI from 2018 until February 2023. She was a Fulbright Scholar-in-Residence in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts Boston (2023–2024). She had previously held a similar position at Bridgewater State University (BSU) during 2017–2018, where she taught five courses, including a Study Abroad program to Germany. Dr. Tafari-Ama curated the “Rum, Sweat and Tears” exhibition at the Flensburg Maritime Museum in Germany (2016–2017), a project that interrogated the city's role in the transatlantic slave trade and its colonial legacy. She used her project as a powerful teaching tool, leading an international seminar and a study tour across Hamburg and Flensburg. This initiative brought together students and faculty from BSU and the universities of Augsburg and Flensburg-Europa, highlighting her role as a bridge-builder between cultures and histories.
Dr. Imani Tafari-Ama played a role in Jamaica's urban renewal efforts through her work as the Social Development Manager for the Inner-City Housing Project (ICHP), implemented by the National Housing Trust (NHT). This initiative aimed to revitalize inner-city communities by providing affordable housing and improving living conditions for residents.
In her capacity, Dr. Tafari-Ama ensured that the housing solutions were not only structurally sound but also socially sustainable. She emphasized the importance of community engagement and participatory development, advocating for policies that addressed the unique needs of marginalized populations. Her approach recognized the intersectionality of issues such as gender, class, and historical disenfranchisement. Dr. Tafari-Ama's contributions to the ICHP extended beyond infrastructure; she championed the integration of social services and community programs that supported education, health, and economic opportunities. Her holistic vision for urban development underscored the necessity of addressing systemic inequalities to achieve meaningful and lasting change in Jamaica's inner-city communities.
She is also a regular opinion columnist in The Jamaica Gleaner, where she writes on a variety of different topics. Now, if I were going to tell you all of what this lady has done, we would need to have a cup of coffee.
