Kaisha Esty is a historian with expertise in race, gender and sexuality in the 19^th and 20^th Century United States. Her research centers on Black womanhood, intimacy, sexual autonomy and consent. Her current project is tentatively titled, Weaponizing Virtue: Black Women and the Struggle for Sexual Sovereignty. This book offers an examination of the politics of ‘feminine virtue’ in the enslaved and freed African American community.

Before joining the faculty in the African American Studies Department at Wesleyan, Dr. Esty earned a Ph.D. in History at Rutgers University. Born and raised in London, UK, Dr. Esty holds a BA and Masters in American Studies from the University of Nottingham.