Dr. LaRay Denzer, a distinguished historian of West African sociopolitical history and longtime ASA member, passed away on September 7, 2025, at the age of 84. LaRay earned her bachelor’s degree from Kalamazoo College in 1963. Her passion for African history led her to the University of Ghana in West Africa, where she obtained her master’s degree and the University of Birmingham where she got her Ph.D. in 1977. As a Fulbright Scholar from September 1982 to July 1983, LaRay’s research and contributions to the field of African studies were widely recognized and respected. Throughout her illustrious career, LaRay taught history at various universities in the United States and Nigeria, including an impactful 17-year tenure at the University of Ibadan. She also served as the editor-in-chief of the Program of African Studies at Northwestern University, where her leadership and scholarship left an indelible mark. LaRay’s research focused on the evolution of anglophone West African nationalist politics and gender dynamics during the colonial era and independence. She was a pioneering historian of women and gender studies in Africa, particularly Nigeria. Her final book, The Historical Dictionary of Sierra Leone, with coauthor David Skinner, will be released October 2, 2025 by Bloomsbury Press.
