Shani Mott

Shani Tahir Mott (March 16, 1976 – March 12, 2024) was an American scholar of Black studies, best known for her advocacy and her examination of race and power in the United States. She was a faculty member at Johns Hopkins University. Her academic work in literature and Africana studies, extended beyond traditional scholarship to actionable advocacy, highlighted by her legal challenge against discriminatory home appraisal practices in Baltimore. Additionally, she founded and served in diversity-focused initiatives, including establishing a social justice collective at Johns Hopkins University and a diversity program at the Bryn Mawr School. She died from adrenal cancer on March 12, 2024, at the age of 47. In the days before her death, she continued to advocate by testifying in support of her lawsuit against LoanDepot. As a result, the case settled with sweeping changes in home appraisal practices including extensive plan to mitigate discrimination including a second appraisal.