W. Gabriel Selassie I is an Assistant Professor of Africana Studies and Director of the Center for Southern California Studies (CSCS). Gabriel specializes in Africana Intellectual and cultural history with an emphasis on Marcus Garvey and the Intersection of Africana history & politics, Africana theology, and Africana public history. He also writes extensively on Black California history. He has presented his work in several international conferences and published widely in leading academic journals, including Journal of African American history, Journal of Africana Religions, California History Journal, Delos: A Journal of Translation and World Literature, and the 76 King Street Journal of Liberty Hall: The Legacy of Marcus Garvey. His recent book, Ethiopian Americans: History, Culture and Experiences (Bloomsbury Press), was published in February 2025. Dr. Selassie was also a Co-Principal Investigators for the LA Civil Rights Reparations Pilot Program Study, City of Los Angeles (Awarded : 2023 – 2024).
His most current work, Orthodoxy and Empire: George Alexander McGuire, the African Orthodox Church, and the Theo-politics of Garveyism, has been submitted for consideration for publication and is currently under review.
Professor Selassie’s education includes an earned Bachelors’ of Architecture and Civil Engineering from Prairie View A & M University of Texas (HBCU), an M.A in Public History and Historic Preservation from the California State University, Dominguez Hills, an M.A. in African American studies from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and M.A in theology from the University of Notre Dame. He also holds earned M.A. and Ph.D. degrees in history from the Claremont Graduate University. Dr. Selassie served in the U.S. Army and was both a non-commissioned and commissioned officer.
