Joan Flores-Villalobos

Joan Flores-Villalobos, assistant professor of history, was awarded the Wesley-Logan Prize in African Diaspora History for her book, The Silver Women: How Black Women’s Labor Made the Panama Canal (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2023). The annual award is jointly sponsored by the American Historical Association and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, recognizing outstanding work in African diaspora history. Flores-Villalobos’ book explores the role of Black West Indian women in constructing the Panama Canal, revealing their critical role in U.S. imperial expansion and migration networks.