Bio
Maco L. Faniel, a native Houstonian, is an educator, scholar, writer, speaker and advocate.
Maco’s book, Hip Hop in Houston: The Origin and Legacy, examines the history of Houston’s hip-hop culture from its beginnings in the early 1980s to 1991. He explores the nature of Houston hip-hop to discover how it came about, why it’s notable, and what it reveals about the life experiences of urban young people in Houston during the 1980s.
Maco recently earned a terminal Master’s of Arts Degree in History (enroute to PhD) from Rutgers University. He holds an MA in History from Texas Southern University and a BA in Speech and Communications from Texas A&M University. Maco’s research centers the social, cultural, and intellectual histories of African Americans in relationship to the carceral state and post-war urban spatializing. Research areas include: the political economy and cultural geography of the war on drugs, mass incarceration, the sunbelt south, race making, identity construction, and hip hop and pop culture. Currently, he examines the war on drugs as a federal mandate carried out in Houston, TX.
Maco is also a contributor to the book Religion in Hip Hop: Mapping the New Terrain edited by Anthony B. Pinn, Monica R. Miller and rapper Bernard “Bun B” Freeman. His chapter, “Mapping Space and Place in the Analysis of Hip Hop and Religion: Houston As An Example,” insists that questions about the role of religion in hip hop must also interrogate the intersection of space, place, and time as significant domains of hip hop cultural practices. From there he analyzes Houston’s hip hop culture to point to what may be religious about it.
His political and social commentary has appeared in numerous web and print publications. As a public scholar, Maco is often invited to write, teach, and speak about issues of justice and equity, mental health, and hip hop and popular culture.
Maco is currently Adjunct Professor in the Black Studies program at Providence College. Most recently Maco taught courses (African American History, US History, Cultural Geography, and Hip Hop History) at Piedmont Virginia Community College, Texas Southern University, Hunter College, five prisons in New Jersey through The New Jersey Scholarship and Transformative Education in Prisons Consortium, and Lone Star Community College. Since the summer of 2016, Maco has been an instructor for the At the Well Young Women’s Leadership Academy. Maco teaches a two week critical reading course for over 80 high school girls of color.
Prior to his work in the academy, Maco worked as an affirmative action consultant, college recruiter, corporate recruiter, professional development and career development specialist, and as a middle school teacher.
Maco is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Incorporated. He often volunteers for organizations to help young people gain valuable life, professional, and leadership skills. He was previously a board member and board chair for the Bread of Life, Incorporated, a Houston based non-profit organization that provides life changing services for those who find themselves homeless, hungry, and those infected and affected by HIV/AIDS.
Maco firmly believes that average people follow paths, but leaders of significance carve out trails.
When Maco is not thinking, writing, teaching, or helping folks get free, his main job is being the husband of one and the father of two.