H. “Herukhuti” Sharif Williams

Adjunct Associate Professor

Headshot of H. “Herukhuti” Sharif Williams
Contact
Areas of Expertise
  • Applied Theatre
  • Conflict Resolution
  • Decolonization
  • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
  • Racial Justice and Equity
  • Restorative Justice

H. "Herukhuti" Sharif Williams PhD, aka Dr. Herukhuti (all pronouns), is an artist, cultural critic, and public intellectual whose work examines the impact of settler-colonialism, imperialism, white supremacy, capitalism, and cis heteropatriarchy on people across ethnic and racial differences. They are a playwright, stage director, documentary filmmaker, performance artist, essayist, and poet. An experienced educator, she has worked with hundreds of students around the world to engage in transformative learning for social justice.

Dr. Herukhuti is an adjunct associate professor of applied theatre research at the CUNY School of Professional Studies. An activist since the age of fourteen, he has been involved in human rights and social justice movements related to decolonization; racial justice and equity; and the embrace of gender/sexual diversity. Their artistic work has appeared on stages in New York and Philadelphia as well as in virtual spaces around the world.

Courses

APTH 690 - Thesis 1

Academic Programs

Graduate Program

Applied Theatre

Recent News

\CUNY SPS MAAT 9th Annual Racial Justice Conference with Dr. Williams MAAT alum Ariyan Johnson

9th Annual Racial Justice Conference Showcases Film by Applied Theatre Alum

July 08, 2024

The MAAT program screened Spiritual Cyphers: Hip Hop + The Church, a film directed by program alum Ariyan Johnson.

Dr. Herukhuti's image for his proposed book

Making Revolution Irresistible in Socially Engaged Art

February 13, 2024

Routledge Press

MA in Applied Theatre faculty member H. "Herukhuti" Sharif Williams, PhD, signed a contract with Routledge to co-edit a book about socially engaged art entitled "Making Revolution Irresistible in Socially Engaged Art", to be published in 2025. The editors want to create space through this text for artists/creatives who are invested in challenging hegemony, the status quo, and the prevailing social order using art to share their stories, wisdom, and practices of disruption, resistance, and revolutionary change.

In the Valley of Coming Forth - Afrofuturist Play by Herukhuti

November 27, 2023

Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute

CUNY SPS MA in Applied Theatre faculty member Dr. H. "Herukhuti" Sharif Williams wrote and produced "In the Valley of Coming Forth", an Afrofuturist, funk, ritual play about a Black woman’s struggle to rescue her kidnapped non-binary child and destroy the system that has torn them apart. The play was co-produced and performed at the Caribbean Cultural Center African Diaspora Institute (CCCADI) in Brooklyn over Thanksgiving weekend.
Photo of CUNY SPS MAAT faculty Dr. Williams speaking at public poetry event

8th Annual Racial Justice Conference Inspires and Connects Communities of Performers

August 30, 2023

The 2023 applied theatre conference featured two collaborative pop-up events that sought to connect different theatre communities.

Additional Areas of Expertise