Ric S. Sheffield

Kenyon College Professor Emeritus Ric Sheffield is a much sought-after public speaker and presenter of programs not commonly offered by other Diversity and Inclusion or African American History speakers. His programs focus upon the elusive concept of “rural diversity,” a little-understood and not often addressed topic.

In addition to a background that includes time spent as a civil rights attorney and more than three decades as a college professor, Sheffield has researched, written, and presented about the Black experience in rural America. Just as the diversity of African American life and culture cannot be reduced to a monolith, the experiences of Black folks in rural spaces are not often captured or represented in today’s literature, media or popular depictions.

Author of “We Got By: A Black Family’s Journey in the Heartland” (Ohio State University Press – Trillium Imprint 2022), Sheffield has given more than a couple hundred talks and is widely regarded as a leading expert on the topic of Black folks in rural America.

A graduate of Case Western Reserve University where he attended college, graduate school in sociology, and law school, he has designed workshops on exploring local Black history as well as examining rural diversity. He is hoping that his most recent work, “Suffrage Chronicles: Stories of Courage in the Struggle for Black Voting Rights in the North,” might be released in time for the 2024 election.