Dr. Tameka Bradley Hobbs is the Library Regional Manager of Broward County Library’s African American Research Library and Cultural Center (AARLCC) in Fort Lauderdale, where she leads one of the nation’s premier institutions dedicated to Black history, culture, and community engagement. A historian, author, and public scholar, she is the award-winning author of Democracy Abroad, Lynching at Home: Racial Violence in Florida, published by the University Press of Florida. The book received the Bronze Medal in the 2015 Florida Book Awards for Florida Nonfiction and the 2016 Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Award from the Florida Historical Society, and her expertise has been featured in several acclaimed documentaries.

In 2024, Dr. Hobbs was named one of Library Journal’s 50 Movers & Shakers, a national recognition of leaders transforming the library profession. Her innovative Black History Saturday School Series has earned commendations from the National Association of Counties and the Urban Libraries Council. In 2025, she was honored by Legacy Magazine as one of South Florida’s Most Prominent and Influential Black Professionals, and she has been inducted into the Gallery of Distinction for the College of Social Sciences, Arts, and Humanities at Florida A&M University.

A seasoned educator and administrator, Dr. Hobbs has held key academic leadership roles, including Assistant Professor of History, Chair of the Department of Social Sciences, and University Historian at Florida Memorial University, where she later served as Associate Provost for Academic Affairs and the Founding Director of the FMU Social Justice Institute. She has also coordinated the African American Studies Program at Valdosta State University. Beyond academia, she has contributed to major public history programs through positions at the John G. Riley Center & Museum of African American History and Culture and the Library of Virginia.

Dr. Hobbs is the founding and current president of the South Florida Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). She also serves on the Board of Directors of South Florida People of Color (SFPoC), where she helped conceptualize the organization’s award-winning Awkward Dinner and its Unity360 Community Race Dialogue Series—both designed to foster meaningful, multiracial conversations about race, equity, and belonging.

A proud alumna of Florida A&M University, Dr. Hobbs earned her Ph.D. in U.S. History and Historical Administration and Public History from Florida State University. Across her career, she has been recognized for her ability to blend rigorous scholarship, community-driven work, and visionary leadership to advance racial justice and expand public understanding of Black history.