National Council on Public History

Dr. Brandon A. Owens, Sr. is a public historian, archival researcher, author, and President and Chief Executive Officer of African American Historical Research & Consulting, LLC (AAHRC), a Nashville, Tennessee-based consulting firm specializing in African American history, historic preservation, and cultural heritage interpretation.

Dr. Owens provides consulting services in historical and archival research, historic resource studies, museum and interpretive planning, exhibition development, oral history, genealogy, institutional history, collections assessment, and educational programming. His work supports museums, historic sites, universities, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, and families seeking to document, preserve, and interpret historically significant people, places, and events.

His consulting portfolio includes historical research associated with National Park Service projects, historic preservation initiatives, institutional histories, and museum development. He currently serves as Executive Director of the Decatur Scottsboro Boys Civil Rights Museum and Judge James E. Horton, Jr. Legal Learning Center in Decatur, Alabama, overseeing historic preservation, interpretive planning, educational programming, institutional partnerships, and capital development.

In 2024, AAHRC received the National Council on Public History’s Excellence in Consulting Award. Dr. Owens also serves on the NCPH Consultants Committee.

Previously, Dr. Owens held senior academic leadership positions, including Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Wilberforce University, Acting Provost and Dean of the Library at Fisk University, and Library Director at Alabama A&M University.

Dr. Owens earned his Ph.D. in Public History and Master of Library Science from Middle Tennessee State University; Master of Arts in History from Alabama State University; and Bachelor of Arts in History from Fisk University.