Othello's Children in the "New World": Moorish History & Identity In The African American Experience
Jos Vittorio Pimienta-Bey was born in New York to parents of Bermudian, Cuban, Barbadian and Moroccan ancestry. He received his B.A. in History from Gettysburg College (Pa.) in 1984 and his M.A. in History from Shippensburg University (Pa.) in 1987. He later earned his Ph.D. in African American Studies from Temple University (Pa.) in 1995. Since 1985, Pimienta-Bey's primary research interest has been the study of African ('Moorish') influences upon the development of 'Western' academic and social institutions. From 1991-2001 he served as an Assistant Professor of History at West Virginia University (WVU), where he taught courses within the History department as well as in the Africana Studies Program. At WVU he also participated and served as a consultant to the Center For Black Culture & Research's Saturday School Academy, which mentored secondary school students and talk them about the historical significance of African peoples.Dr. Pimienta-Bey's historical essays have appeared in Message Magazine, The Louisiana Weekly and in Dr. Ivan Van Sertima's anthology The Golden Age of The Moor (1992). Dr. Pimienta-Bey has traveled extensively during the course of his research, having visited such countries as Morocco, Cuba, Brazil, Spain, Italy, France, and Great Britain. In his spare time he enjoys practicing Wing Chun Gung Fu, writing music and playing guitar in a local Celtic band called 'Sang Run.' He is single, and presently resides in Morgantown West Virginia.