It is with great sadness we share that Dr. Naurice Frank Woods, Jr., professor emeritus of African American and African Diaspora Studies, passed away on March 8, 2026.
Woods grew up in Greensboro, N.C., raised by educator parents who were dedicated to truth, justice, and the sharing of knowledge. An educator, artist, and art historian, Woods received his BFA at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (1975), his MFA in studio arts at UNC Greensboro (1978), and his PhD in art history at The Union Institute & University in Cincinnati, Ohio (1993). Woods taught at Greensboro College and Johnson C. Smith University before devoting more than three decades of instruction to UNCG. A recipient of the UNC System’s Order of the Long Leaf Pine, Woods taught with excellence — with heart, humor, and deep care for his subjects and his students.
When he was a teen, the internationally recognized painter James McMillan, also a Greensboro native, told a young Frank he had talent. That praise and the loving support of his parents directed his path as a visual artist, inspiring his work in painting and sculpture in affirmation of African American art, artists, and cultural history. Woods was a noted artist who frequently exhibited his work internationally, in the U.S., and in greater North Carolina, with more than 100 juried exhibitions to his name. The Weatherspoon Art Museum exhibited his portraits, “Pioneering African American Artists: Paintings by N. Frank Woods, Jr.,” in fall 2023; the Weatherspoon holds other works by Woods in its permanent collection. Woods imparted a creative and intellectual legacy to UNCG through his support, development, and sustaining of African American and African Diaspora Studies. He taught thousands of students at the University, and his legacy is one of outstanding personal character.
Woods’s family noted the power of his abiding care. “Through scholarship, story, and steadfast commitment, Dr. N. Frank Woods, Jr. illuminated stories too often unheard, centered voices too long pushed to the margins. His work in African American studies as an artist, author, and educator reminds us that justice is pursued through understanding, and that education is both an act of resistance and a gift to future generations. We honor his dedication to inquiry, his respect for lived experience, and his unwavering belief that knowing our past strengthens our path forward.”
Woods’s service to UNCG spanned the nearly 40 years of the development of Black Studies, African American Studies, and, as it is now called, the African American and African Diaspora Studies Program. He was the longest-serving director of the program (1994-2008), serving for 12 years at a key time in its development at the University. As lead writer and organizer of the proposal for the African American Studies major, Woods’s contributions as director led to its adoption and implementation in 2002, supported by the enthusiasm of his colleagues Dr. Angela Rhone, Mr. Michael Cauthen, and the late Dr. Logie Meachum, as well as the undergraduate student body. An internal evaluation of the program noted the contributions of Woods and Cauthen among the “institutional commitments and assiduous leadership of both faculty and staff” in building African American Studies. With his colleagues, Woods shared a devotion to illuminating the richness of Black art, history, and culture. He designed and taught ten-plus courses in African American art history, music, film, and popular culture that were and continue to be foundational to the major.
Woods authored several books, including the critical monographs Race and Racism in Nineteenth-Century Art: The Ascendancy of Robert Duncanson, Edward Bannister, and Edmonia Lewis, published by the University of Mississippi Press in 2020; Henry Ossawa Tanner: Art, Faith, Race, and Legacy, published by Routledge in 2013. His textbooks include African American Pioneers of Art, Film, and Music and Lose Not Courage, Lose Not Faith, Go Forward: Selected Topics from the African American Experience 1900-2000, both published by Kendall/Hunt. He served on the postmaster consultancy committee that brought out the Edmonia Lewis stamp in 2022. In collaboration with Lorenzo “Logie” Meachum and support from a North Carolina Humanities grant, Woods produced Linda B. Brown’s “Wildfire: Black Hands, White Marble,” a play about sculptor Edmonia Lewis. Woods’s last artist talk was delivered at the Weatherspoon on February 14, 2023 — Frederick Douglass Day — where he shared his scholarship, “Painting and Passing: Robert S. Duncanson’s Dilemma of Racial Identity.”
As noted in his obituary, Woods grew up “grounded in family, faith, and perseverance. He carried those values throughout his life.” He is survived by his wife, Sadie Bryant Woods; two daughters, Karmen Woods Bell and Tori Woods; and two grandchildren, Cameron and Aiden. His legacy lives on through the love and knowledge he shared. The African American and African Diaspora Studies and wider UNCG communities mourn his loss, while continuing to learn from his gifts and example.
Those wanting to learn more about Dr. Woods and the AADS community at UNCG are welcome to view the documentary Naming Space: The AADS Story.
Written by Dr. Noelle Morrissette, Director of African American and African Diaspora Studies
