Elizabeth Davis-Russell’s New Book, "Invisible Until Needed," is a Powerful Memoir Documenting the Author’s Experiences in Navigating Racism & Sexism in Higher Education

Clovis, CA, April 11, 2025 --(PR.com)-- Fulton Books author Elizabeth Davis-Russell, who holds a BA in psychology from Oakland University, an MA in educational psychology from NYU, an EdD in counselor education from Yeshiva, and a PhD in clinical psychology from NYU, has completed her most recent book, “Invisible Until Needed: One Woman's Journey Navigating Racism and Sexism in Higher Education on Two Continents”: a poignant account that explores the prejudice and bias that has pervaded higher education, told through the author’s own perspective as she witnesses it first-hand.

Born in Harper, Maryland County, Liberia, Dr. Elizabeth Davis-Russell served as president of WVS Tubman University in Harper, Liberia. Prior to this position, she served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at the State University of New York College at Cortland. She spent most of her career in higher education—over thirty years of experience as a faculty member and an administrator. Dr. Davis-Russell is a trained and certified psychoanalytic psychotherapist from the Institute for the Study of Psychotherapy in New York, USA, and is a retired licensed psychologist in the State of California, where she had a private practice in addition to teaching. The author has served on several national and international boards and associations, including the International Association of University Presidents (IAUP) and co-chair of the IAUP/UN Commission on Disarmament Education, Conflict Resolution and Peace.

“This book traces my journey of more than thirty-five years in predominantly White colleges and universities where Black women constituted a small segment of the population, making me very much a minority in majority institutions,” writes Dr. Davis-Russell. “As a Black woman, I was often ‘the only one’ or the ‘obligatory second.’ And as Black women in higher education attest, we are often invisible to our colleagues during critical decisions or social events but visible to fill two boxes on necessary forms: race and gender.

“As Black women, in many of those institutions, we encounter the illusion of inclusion but are jettisoned into reality when we find we are left out of the meetings before and after the formal regularly scheduled meetings and lunches, where plans are hatched and important decisions made. During formal meetings, we may naively think that discussions are imminent and that our input is important, only to realize that the decisions have been made and that the discussion is a sham.”

Published by Fulton Books, Elizabeth Davis-Russell’s book was originally inspired after the author watched the news coverage of the January 6th Riots at the US Capitol Building, which spurred her to share her own story of racism and sexism she had experienced first-hand in America. Deeply personal and emotionally candid, Dr. Davis-Russell shares her story in the hope of waking up her readers to the systemic racism that must be dismantled in the nation if there is any hope of healing as a country.

Readers who wish to experience this thought-provoking work can purchase “Invisible Until Needed: One Woman's Journey Navigating Racism and Sexism in Higher Education on Two Continents” at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble.

Please direct all media inquiries to Author Support via email at support@fultonbooks.com or via telephone at 877-210-0816.