EDUCATION

PhD Candidate (ABD) in English at the Graduate Center of the City University of New
York. Specialization in African-American Literature. Certificates in American Studies and Africana Studies.

2008 M.Phil., English, the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.

2002 B.A. Media and Communications, The City College of New York. Advertising and Public Relations specialization. Professional Writing certificate.

RESEARCH INTERESTS

The Black Arts and Black Power Movements, 20th Century African American Literature and culture, Nuyorican Poetry and Literature, Hip Hop and Jazz, Third World Marxism, Pan-Africanism, Black students in higher education, Gender and Sexuality, Race and ethnicity, Digital Humanities.

ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT

Academic appointments

2011-2012 Diversity Fellow at Purchase College, SUNY.

2008-10 Writing Across the Curriculum Fellow at the City College of New York.
Black Studies Program.

Teaching appointments

2012-14 Adjunct Lecturer, Hunter College, CUNY. Department of Africana, Puerto
Rican, and Latin@ Studies.
2012 Adjunct Instructor, Purchase College, SUNY. Humanities.
2010 Adjunct Lecturer, Hunter College, CUNY. Department of Sociology.
2010-14 Adjunct Lecturer, Lehman College, CUNY. Department of English.
2006-10 Adjunct Instructor, New York University, Gallatin School of
Individualized Instruction.
2002-14 Adjunct Lecturer, The City College of New York, CUNY
SEEK Department,
2003, 2005 Adjunct Lecturer, Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY. Department of English.

Courses Taught

American Minority Literature
Advanced Expository Writing
The Black Arts Movement
Bridge to College Writing
Contemporary Urban Writers
Freshman English Composition
Hip Hop Culture
Introduction to Critical Reading, Writing, and Research
Sociology of Race and Ethnicity

Related Professional Employment

2013 Academic Intervention and Success Coordinator, Urban Male Leadership
Program. Lehman College, CUNY.

1999-2002 Writing Tutor, The City College of New York Writing Center.

1999-2000 Media Relations Intern, Fleishman-Hillard Public Relations.

CONFERENCE PAPERS

Presentations

Time Has Come: Media, The Last Poets, and the Black Arts Movement. National Council
for Black Studies Annual Conference. Atlanta, GA. March 2012.
Puerto Rican Rhythms: Felipe Luciano and the Last Poets. National Council for Black
Studies Annual Conference. Cincinnati, OH. March 2011.
The Last Poets: the Early Years. National Council for Black Studies Annual
Conference. New Orleans, LA. March 2010.
Writing Right: Teaching Writing Conventions Specific to a Discipline. CUNY Writing
Across the Curriculum Professional Development Seminar. City College of New
York. November 2009.
Trust Me, It’s Good for You: Identifying and addressing writing needs and forming
course partnerships. Co-presenter. Tracing Connections: Writing Across the Curriculum / Writing in the Disciplines conference. CUNY Graduate Center, April, 2009.
Returning to the Source: Ethnic Studies in the Obama Age. Left Forum 2009. Pace
University, New York, NY. April, 2009.
Rebel CUNY: Legacy of People’s Struggle. Left Forum 2009. Pace University,
New York, NY. April, 2009.
Hip-Hop, Social Movements, and a New Left Turn. Left Forum 2009. Pace University,
New York, NY. April, 2009.
African Rhythms: Randy Weston’s ‘Jazz’. National Council for Black Studies Annual
conference. Atlanta, GA. March 2009.
City University of New York: Black Liberation and Student Organizing. Black Radical
Congress 10th Anniversary Conference. University of Missouri-St. Louis. June, 2008.
Framing Black Power: Freedom Dreams in The Final Comedown & The Spook Who Sat
By the Door. Framed: Delimiting the Film Image Conference. CUNY Graduate Center. April, 2008.
Where the Ladies At? Reexamining Women’s Roles in Hip Hop Culture. Sifting
Through Lies Graduate Student Conference, SUNY Stony Brook. February, 2008.
An African Village in Bed Stuy: Randy Weston’s ‘Jazz.’ New York City: Global
Village Interdisciplinary Conference, New York Institute of Technology. March, 2007.
Brooklyn, Stand Up: Jay-Z, Notorious B.I.G., and Brooklyn Hip Hop. Imagining
Brooklyn Conference, Brooklyn College, New York City. March, 2007.
African Rhythms and the Diaspora: Randy Weston’s Pan African Musical Vision. The
African Presence and Influence on the Cultures of the Americas Interdisciplinary Conference, Kingsborough Community College, New York. November 2006.
Street Griots: The Last Poets, Watts Prophets, and the Black Arts Movement. CUNY
Works in Process Conference. CUNY Graduate Center. October 2006.
Street Griots: The Last Poets and Black Performance Poetry. Graduate Student
Conference: New Haven, CT, Southern Connecticut State University. April 2006.
Niggers are Scared of Revolution: Blackness and Social Change in the Work of the Last
Poets. Black Arts Movement Conference: Washington, DC, Howard University. March 2006.
What More Can I Say?: Jay-Z and Hip Hop’s Journey as Urban Narrative. City in
Motion Conference: New York, New York Institute of Technology. March 2006.
The Expanding Roles of City College Peer Writing Tutors. Co-Presenter. CUNY
Association of Writing Supervisors Conference, New York City Technical College. November 2001.

INVITED TALKS AND LECTURES

Hip Hop, Race, and Milwaukee. University Roundtable at Marquette U, Milwaukee, WI.
March 2010.
A Short History of Black Students in CUNY. African Heritage Month Black Student
Activism Conference. New York University. February, 2010.
What is the New Wave of Black Student Activism? Malcolm X Grassroots Movement
Unity Brunch. November 2009.
Rethinking Revolutionary Organizations. Center for Changes Conference. University of
Chicago. July 2009.
Reexamining Revolutionary Culture. Presentation at the Brecht Forum’s annual
Marxist Intensive seminar. New York City. July 2009.
Plenary panel speaker, CUNY Social Forum, The City College of New York, October,
2008.
Affirmative Action: Responding to Institutional Racism In Pedagogy, Faculty Hiring and
Graduate Admissions 40 Years After Open Admissions. CUNY Social Forum, The City College of New York, October 2008.
Ocean Hill-Brownsville: The Battle for Open Admissions and Community Control. Panel
Discussant. Brecht Forum. New York City. September 2008.
U.S. Black Freedom Struggle: 1960s-1990s. Panel Discussant. Center for Changes
Conference. Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. August 2008.
Which Way Is Left? Theory, Politics, Organization and 21st-Century Socialism. Panel
moderator. Brecht Forum. New York City. July 2008.
Dizzy Gillespie, Nikki Giovanni, and the Last Poets. Talk given at “Jazz Poetry for
Hep Cats” event at the Yippie Museum. New York City, March 2008.
I Am a Man: Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Social Justice. Keynote at
St. Martin’s Episcopal Church MLK Breakfast. New York City. January 2008.
Race and the City. Presentation at the Brecht Forum’s annual Marxist Intensive
seminar. New York City. August 2007.
The City University of New York and the Black Liberation Movement. “Today’s
Black Agenda” panel. 2007 Left Forum: the Cooper Union, New York City. March 2007.
’Bling’ Culture: Intersections of Rap, Race, Class, and the City. Presentation at the
Brecht Forum’s annual Marxist Intensive seminar. New York City. August 2006.
Envisioning CUNY as Reparations. Brooklyn College Social Forum. City University of
New York. March 2006.
The Nature of This Flower is To Bloom: The Birth of a CUNY Movement. Student
Liberation Action Movement 10th Anniversary Conference: CUNY Graduate Center, New York City. Panel discussant. March 2006.

PUBLICATIONS

“Sonia Sanchez”. Article for Great Lives From History: African Americans. Salem Press. 2011.
“In a Cold Sweat: Soul Power.” Film review for American Music Review. Volume XXXIX, Number 2: Spring 2010.
“Screening Black Power.” Review of Soul Power and When We Were Kings. Left Turn Number 37: July/August, 2010.
“Openings and Possibilities: The Meaning of Obama.” Left Turn. Number 29: June/July, 2008. Co-authored with Kazembe Balagun.
“Randy Weston and Brooklyn’s African Village.” Brooklyn College Institute for Studies in American Music Newsletter. Volume XXXV, Number 2: Spring 2006.

DISSERTATION

Street Griots: The Last Poets and the Black Arts Movement. This is
a cultural history and biography of a performance poetry group and activist collective that holds an understudied role in literary/ cultural discourse of the period of the Black Arts/ Black Power Movements. It documents their early years from roughly 1968-1971 and examines how their artistic production was fused with radical political action. This study also situates them within the emergence of Harlem as a key space in the Black Arts Movement and examines how one member expands the concept of Black Arts to include the Puerto Rican diaspora. I argue that they are modern incarnations of the griot/ djali of African folklore and the Black oral tradition, who use their stories to transmit culture, values, history, and traditions.

AWARDS AND FELLOWSHIPS

SUNY Purchase Diversity Dissertation Fellow, 2011-12
CUNY MAGNET Dissertation Fellowship, 2011-12
Writing Across the Curriculum Fellowship at the City College of New York, 2008-10
MAGNET Presidential Fellowship, the City University of New York, 2004-2008
Passed PhD Qualifying Examination “With Distinction”
CCNY Barbara Barotz Memorial Award for tutoring, 2002

GRANTS

Sue Rosenberg Zalk Student Travel and Research Award, 2010.
CUNY Black Male Initiative Travel/Research Grant, 2010
CCNY Washington D.C. Alumni Scholarship, 2002
Fleishman-Hillard Multicultural Public Relations Scholarship, 1999-2000
Advertising Club of New York Award, 2000

Selected Media Appearances

Suga’ in My Bowl jazz special: co-host for interview with jazz guitarist Pat Metheny.
Aired on WBAI FM (99.5), New York City. 10 PM-12 AM, October 10, 2011.
Suga’ in My Bowl jazz special: co-host for interview with Amiri Baraka. Aired on
WBAI FM (99.5), New York City. 11 PM-1 AM, January 16, 2011.
Suga’ in My Bowl jazz special: co-host for interview with jazz pianist
Randy Weston. Aired on WBAI FM (99.5), New York City. 2-4 AM, September 21, 2010.
Suga’ in My Bowl jazz special: co-host for interview with jazz saxophonist Pharoah
Sanders. Aired on WBAI FM (99.5), New York City. 2-4 AM, April 20, 2010.
Wake Up Call. Guest commentary on state higher ed budget cuts and proposed university
restructuring plan. Aired on WBAI FM (99.5), New York City. 7-8 AM,
March 11, 2010.
Suga’ in My Bowl jazz special: co-host for interview with poets Sonia Sanchez and
Jessica Care Moore. Aired on WBAI FM (99.5), New York City. 2-4 AM,
November 24, 2009.
In Our Heads: About Our Hair. Maitefa Anzanga, dir. 2011. Documentary film on Black
women’s hair styles. Commentary on the politics and cultural implications of
Black women’s hair styles.
Suga’ in My Bowl jazz special: co-host for interview with authors of Clawing at
the Limits of Cool: Miles Davis, John Coltrane, and the Greatest Jazz Collaboration Ever. Aired on WBAI FM (99.5), New York City. 9-11 pm, December 23, 2008.
Ethnic Studies and Black graduate students in CUNY. Discussant. Harlem 411 radio
show, aired on WHCR FM (90.3), New York City, January 2008.
Co-host, radio special on the life of John Henrik Clarke. Aired on WBAI, 99.5 FM, New
York City. 9-11 pm, October 23, 2007.
Co-host, radio special on Assata Shakur and CUNY. Aired on WBAI, 99.5 FM, New
York City. 9-11 pm, July 2007.
CUNY: A Mission Deferred. On-air commentator for monthly radio show on WBAI FM
(99.5), New York City. 2007-2008.
Ancestor House. Aired on Manhattan Neighborhood Network. Commentary on the case
of Assata Shakur and the Guillermo Morales/Assata Shakur Community/Student Center at the City College of New York.

Media Experience

Associate Producer, Suga’ in My Bowl. Monthly jazz show on WBAI, 99.5 FM, New
York City. 2009-Present.
Executive Producer for radio special on the life of John Henrik Clarke. Aired on New
York City’s WBAI, 99.5 FM, 9-11 pm, October 23, 2007.
Executive Producer for radio special on Assata Shakur and CUNY. Aired on New
York City’s WBAI, 99.5 FM, 9-11 pm, July 2007.
CUNY: A Mission Deferred. Member of production collective and on-air
commentator for monthly show on WBAI FM (99.5), New York City. 2007-2008.
Editor of The Messenger, CCNY student newspaper. Edited, copyedited,
researched, and wrote stories. Publication awarded title of “Best Alternative Campus Newspaper” by the Center for Campus Organizing, 2000. 1999-2004.

UNIVERSITY SERVICE

Faculty advisor for Black Legacy student organization at Lehman College, CUNY. 2010-
14.
Educational Opportunity and Diversity Office Advisory Committee, CUNY Graduate
Center, 2007-2009.
Co-Chair, Africana Studies Group, CUNY Graduate Center, 2007-2009.
Theorizing Blackness conference committee, CUNY Graduate Center, 2007.
Afro-Latin@ conference committee, CUNY Graduate Center, 2005.

COMMUNITY SERVICE

College Day. Participation in day-long series of discussions, workshops, and mentoring
with K-8 students on life in college and graduate school. P.S./I.S. 268Q, Queens, NY. January, 2010, 2011.
The Brecht Forum/ New York Marxist School. Program Committee. 2003-2007.
The Brecht Forum/ New York Marxist School. Board of Directors. 2003-2006.
Fall 2005: Richard Wright and the Black Radical Tradition. 6-session popular education
course taught at the Brecht Forum/ NY Marxist School. New York City
Guillermo Morales/ Assata Shakur Community and Student Center, the City College of
New York. Member of Board of Directors and Assistant Director of Center. 2000-2003.

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

Association for the Study of Classical African Civilizations (ASCAC)
College Language Association
Diopian Institute for Scholarly Advancement
Jazz Journalists Association
National Council for Black Studies