Rasheed J. Atwater is an Assistant Professor in the Department of African American and Diaspora Studies. He is a husband, father, son, and brother from Saginaw, MI. Atwater double majored in Africology and History for his Bachelor of Arts at Eastern Michigan University. He began his graduate studies at Eastern Michigan University, earning his Master of Arts in Social Foundations of Community Education and a graduate certificate in African-American studies. While at Eastern Michigan University, he served eight years in the Michigan Army National Guard and served during the Flint, MI, water crisis. Atwater is a King-Chavez-Parks Future Faculty Fellow and was a critical historian for the Black Ypsilanti Historical Signage Project that commemorated the historical contributions of Black Ypsilantians. Atwater earned his Doctorate in Africology at Temple University where he was the inaugural SAGE Molefi Kete Asante Award recipient. Dr. Atwater's research specialties are the Afrocentric Paradigm, Afrocentric Education, African Diaspora Family Structures, African American Manhood Studies, African American Environmental Philosophy, and the praxis of Ma’at.