Scholar.
I am a sociologist with research and teaching expertise in race, gender, Black history and politics, applied statistics, and qualitative methods.
I earned my Ph.D in sociology with a concentration in race and gender from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Currently, I am a Senior Researcher at Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C.
I earned my Ph.D in sociology with a concentration in race and gender from the University of Illinois at Chicago.
Currently, I am a Senior Researcher at Pew Research Center in Washington, D.C.
Black Americans, Feminism and Gender Identity
In this report my academic research and my work at Pew finally merged. I pulled together data from 4 existing Pew Research Center studies to examine how Black Americans view gender equality, feminism and gender identity.
Read the findings here and see national coverage of the report at CNN.
Read the findings here and see national coverage of the report at CNN.
Black Progress and Politics
Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to understand the nuances among Black people on issues of racial inequality and social change in the United States. This in-depth survey explores differences among Black Americans in their views on the social status of the Black population in the U.S.; their assessments of racial inequality; their visions for institutional and social change; and their outlook on the chances that these improvements will be made.
The analysis is the latest in the Center’s series of in-depth surveys of public opinion among Black Americans.
Read the findings here and see national coverage of the survey at the New York Times, CNN, USA Today and BET.
The analysis is the latest in the Center’s series of in-depth surveys of public opinion among Black Americans.
Read the findings here and see national coverage of the survey at the New York Times, CNN, USA Today and BET.
Black Americans and Identity
Pew Research Center conducted this analysis to understand the rich diversity of Black people in the United States and their views of Black identity. This in-depth, robust online survey of 3,912 Black U.S. adults explores differences among them in views of identity such as between U.S.-born Black people and Black immigrants; Black people living in different regions of the country; and between Black people of different ethnicities, political party affiliations, ages and income levels.
Read the findings here and see national coverage of the survey at the Washington Post, CNN, The Hill and Essence. Click below to listen to me and Perri Small discuss the report on Midday Madness on WVON Chicago 1690.
Read the findings here and see national coverage of the survey at the Washington Post, CNN, The Hill and Essence. Click below to listen to me and Perri Small discuss the report on Midday Madness on WVON Chicago 1690.
Faith Among Black Americans
This study is Pew Research Center’s most comprehensive, in-depth attempt to explore religion among Black Americans. Its centerpiece is a nationally representative survey of 8,660 Black adults (ages 18 and older), featuring questions designed to examine Black religious experiences.
Read the findings here and and watch my co-author Besheer Mohamed and I discuss the report with a panel of experts here.
Read the findings here and and watch my co-author Besheer Mohamed and I discuss the report with a panel of experts here.
PREVIOUS RESEARCH
“…all those concerned with promoting a more expansive notion of Blackness, be it through contests around nation, gender, or sexuality, must pay attention to the politics national Black organizations either produce, challenge, or legitimate”.
~ Cathy Cohen
"The Boundaries of Blackness"
Incomplete Intersectionality?
Gender in 21st Century Black Organizations
In this study, I analyzed the ways that leaders of Black social justice organizations used gendered collective action frames in their efforts to interpret and present solutions for social problems that affect Black people.
My mixed methodology featured semi-structured interviews with 35 leaders of local, regional, and national Black organizations, as well as textual analysis of the mission statements, programs, and press releases of 34 national Black organizations.
Key findings indicated that leaders of 21st century Black organizations deploy intersectional viewpoints which acknowledge the multiple layers of inequality that Black women face. However, they still frame them as less severe than those Black men face. They also do not view the inequality that Black LGBTQ people experience as equivalent to other types of racial inequality.
This study serves as the basis of my book project, which puts these findings in conversation with the history of androcentric anti-racist Black social movements.
This research is the winner of the University of Illinois at Chicago's 2015 David P. Street Dissertation Prize in Engaged Sociology. It was funded through the University of Illinois Provost's Award for Graduate Research (2010-2011) and the University of Illinois at Chicago's Bucher Memorial Award for Qualitative Studies in Social Process (2011-2012).
This book project is on hold while I conduct research at Pew Research Center.
My mixed methodology featured semi-structured interviews with 35 leaders of local, regional, and national Black organizations, as well as textual analysis of the mission statements, programs, and press releases of 34 national Black organizations.
Key findings indicated that leaders of 21st century Black organizations deploy intersectional viewpoints which acknowledge the multiple layers of inequality that Black women face. However, they still frame them as less severe than those Black men face. They also do not view the inequality that Black LGBTQ people experience as equivalent to other types of racial inequality.
This study serves as the basis of my book project, which puts these findings in conversation with the history of androcentric anti-racist Black social movements.
This research is the winner of the University of Illinois at Chicago's 2015 David P. Street Dissertation Prize in Engaged Sociology. It was funded through the University of Illinois Provost's Award for Graduate Research (2010-2011) and the University of Illinois at Chicago's Bucher Memorial Award for Qualitative Studies in Social Process (2011-2012).
This book project is on hold while I conduct research at Pew Research Center.