Kesho Y. Scott

Kesho Yvonne Scott (born 1953) is associate professor of American Studies and Sociology at Grinnell College. She received her M.A. in sociology at the University of Detroit. Before receiving her Ph.D. in American Studies from the University of Iowa in 1988, she was Iowa Woman of the Year (1986). After receiving her doctoral degree she became Distinguished American Studies Scholar in Residence at Pennsylvania State University in Harrisburg (1989), visiting professor at Nanjing University in China (1994), and Fulbright visiting professor at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia (2001–2002).

Scott's interests include black women in America, multiculturalism, and unlearning racism. She is the author of several books, including The Habit of Surviving, and Tight Spaces (coauthored with Cherry Muhanji and Egyirba High), which was the winner of the 1988 American Book Award, and was also awarded the Christine Wilson Medal for Equality and Justice by the Iowa Commission on the Status of Women.

Scott was a faculty member on a Semester at Sea voyage (Spring, 1991 and Spring, 2015)and has served as a trainer and consultant for the program.

Scott has appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, the Sonya Live show, the Last Call show, and on TBS's Family of Women show hosted by Jane Fonda. In 2016 she was inducted into the Iowa African-American Hall of Fame.

On January 21, 2017, Scott spoke at the Women's March in Des Moines, Iowa.