Molloy University, Rockville Centre, NY
Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology
Hello and welcome to my website.
I am an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Molloy University in Rockville Centre, NY. My work focuses on racial politics, media, and democracy. I have published widely on the connections between racial oppression, struggles for racial equality, political conflicts, debates over public policy, and everyday social life in various scholarly and public outlets. My work emphasizes social change, policy, and community and civic engagement. I teach on a range of topics including sociological theory, popular culture, social inequalities, race and ethnicity, drugs and society, and political sociology.
My first book, Debating the Drug War: Race, Politics, and the Media, was published in 2021 by Routledge Press.
It examines the racial politics of debates around drug policy drawing on 30 years of media content and digital audience reception around the War on Drugs. The book provides an overview of how media, drug policy, and racial oppression collide with major implications for how people form identities in these debates and how racial politics shape the perceptions of drugs and drug use as a social problem.
Order the book here
My second book, drawing on this research, Democracy is Awkward: Grappling with Racism in Grassroots Political Organizing, is out in 2025 with UNC Press.
Using rich ethnographic data, I focus on participants in a real grassroots progressive political party in the northeastern United States. While the organization's goals included racial equity and the inclusion of people of color, its membership and leadership remained disproportionately white, and the group had mixed success in prioritizing and carrying out its racial justice agenda. By highlighting the connections between racial inequality, grassroots democracy, and political participation, the book weaves in the voices and experiences of party members and offers insights for building more robust and empowering spaces of grassroots democratic engagement.
Pre-order the book hereContact Me
Academic Appointments
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Fall 2020 - Current
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2014 - 2020
University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
Graduate Instructor, Department of Sociology (Spring 2015 - Spring 2020)
Teaching Assistant for Prof. Mary Donegan (Fall 2019)
Teaching Assistant for Prof. Matthew W. Hughey (Summer 2018 & Spring 2020)
Research Assistant for Prof. Matthew W. Hughey (Spring 2018 - Fall 2018)
Special Lecturer in Sociology, Student Support Services (SSS), Institute for Student Success (Summer 2015 & Summer 2017)
Social Studies Instructor, Connecticut Collegiate Awareness and Preparation Program (ConnCAP), Institute for Student Success (Summer 2016)
Teaching Assistant for Prof. Davita Silfen Glasberg and Prof. Barret Katuna(Fall 2014)
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Fall 2018
University of Hartford, Hartford, CT
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Sociology
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Summer 2018 - Fall 2019
Everyday Democracy, Hartford, CT
Research and Training Associate
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Fall 2017 - Spring 2020
Trinity College, Hartford, CT
Visiting Lecturer, Department of Sociology
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Summer 2014
Beckfield College, Florence, KY
Adjunct Faculty, Department of Sociology
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2010 - 2014
University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
Research Assistant for Ervin (Maliq) Matthew (Fall 2012 to Spring 2014)
Instructor of Sociology (Summer 2013)
Teaching Assistant (Fall 2010 to Summer 2012)
Education
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Ph.D. 2020
Ph.D., Sociology 2020
Dissertation Title: “Democracy is Awkward: Progressive Grassroots Politics and Racial Inequality”
University of Connecticut
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M.A.2013
Master of Arts, Sociology
Cincinnati University
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B.A.2008
Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Anthropology
Economics Minor
Ohio Wesleyan University
“The benefit of sociological analysis is that it can aid our moral deliberations by bringing to light the harms that are done when inequality is reproduced.”
-Michael Schwalbe
Honors, Awards, Grants, and Fellowships
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2020Ron Taylor Award for Best Graduate Student Paper, for “Why Black Rights Matter: Political Discourse in the Mississippi Freedom Movement, 1961-1966,”
Department of Sociology, University of Connecticut -
2017 - 2019 (each year)Recognition for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching
Office of the Provost, University of Connecticut
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2017Graduate-Undergraduate Research Team Grant (with Fatuma Belly), University of Connecticut, Department of Sociology ($750)
This grant is awarded to promote the enrichment of the undergraduate experience through partnerships between undergraduates and mentors in research, scholarship, and creative activity. -
2017Spring Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship, The Graduate School, University of Connecticut ($2000)
Predoctoral fellowships are awarded to doctoral students on the recommendation of the graduate faculty in their program and carry no service commitment. -
2017University of Connecticut Emeriti Faculty Research Travel Grant
Awarded to facilitate travel related to areas of research
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2016Lee Student Support Fund, Society for the Study of Social Problems
The fund provides up to $500 in travel support (transportation costs only) for undergraduate and graduate student conference participants. Awards are allocated by the committee.
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2016Outstanding Graduate Research Award, University of Connecticut, Department of Sociology
Awarded annually since 1997 and is given to a student who demonstrates excellence in scholarly accomplishments as evidenced by research publications, funded grants and fellowships, and research-related awards. -
2016Recognition for Excellence in Graduate Student Teaching, Office of the Provost, University of Connecticut
Through this award, the UConn Foundation Office of Alumni Relations recognizes the outstanding contributions and achievements of UConn Graduate Student instructors
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2016Michael L. Dunphy Scholarship Award, University of Connecticut ($500)
UConn Sociology Department scholarship
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2015-2017University of Connecticut, Department of Sociology, Fall and Summer Predoctoral Fellowships
Predoctoral fellowships are awarded to doctoral students on the recommendation of the graduate faculty in their program and carry no service commitment.
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2016Human Rights Graduate Student Research Grant, Human Rights Institute, University of Connecticut ($1000)
Awarded to support and promote research projects on human rights related questions
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2015University of Connecticut Emeriti Faculty Research Travel Grant
Awarded to facilitate travel related to areas of research
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2014Beckfield College Faculty Enrichment Fund
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2013Charles Phelps Taft Research Center Graduate Research Travel Grant
Awarded to facilitate travel related to areas of research
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2010Segal AmeriCorps Education Award
Named after Eli Segal, one of the pioneers of the national service movement and the first CEO of the federal Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award is a post-service benefit received by participants who complete a term of national service in an approved AmeriCorps program.
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2007-2008Dean's List - Ohio Wesleyan University
To qualify, students must achieve a 3.5 GPA on a 4.0 scale in a semester.
Research
Research Interests and Works in Progress
My overall research program concentrates on using in-depth qualitative analysis to reveal the intersecting social dynamics of racial inequality, digital communication, media representations, and politics and social movements.
Interests
- Race and Ethnicity
- Political Sociology
- Media
- Social Movements
- Human Rights
- Symbolic Interaction
- Digital Sociology
- Qualitative Methodology
- Culture
- Theory
Ongoing research project topics:
- the racial politics of political parties
- racialized dynamics of political power
- the racial politics of mass media debates over drug policy
- the human rights framework in collective action against racial injustice in the U.S.
- the relationship between racial oppression and grassroots democracy
- the reproduction and contestation of racial oppression in daily social interactions
“There is no wealth like knowledge and no poverty like ignorance.”
-Siddhartha Gautama
Recent Research Collaborations
Jeffrey G. Toussaint
Associate Professor of Sociology/Criminal Justice
Virginia Wesleyan University
VisitCall me a Collaborator
Musician Daryl Hall, once said "I'm a born collaborator. This is what I was born to do, really" and I can't help but identify with that sentiment.
I have had a lot of great experiences working with a lot of great people. Please check out all of their work with and without me.
Publications
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“A False Peace: Bringing Race and Racism into Peace Scholarship in the Metropole.:
Articles & Book Chapters Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/pacoooo739
Abstract
While the historical and ongoing symbolic and material inequalities and violence faced by African Americans can be understood as a human rights violation, the efficacy of the human rights framework for addressing racial injustice in the united States remains contested. In this article, I examine the relationship between the emergence and dominance of the geopolitical doctrine of human rights and the struggle for racial justice in the united States. through historical, legal, and sociological analysis of relevant issues and cases, I discern the benefits and limitations of the human rights framework for achieving racial justice and elucidate dynamics between relevant institutional, political, and social actors. I argue that the human rights framework opens international pathways for information, accountability, and symbolic politics conducive to combating racial injustice, particularly regarding overt manifestations of oppression and violence, but enduring issues such as the role of the state in racial politics and the dehumanization of people of color present hindrances.
“Understanding Morality in a Racialized Society.'
Articles & Book Chapters The Handbook of the Sociology of Morality. Second Edition. Edited by A. Luft, S. Hitlin, and S. Dromi. Springer.
Abstract
While the historical and ongoing symbolic and material inequalities and violence faced by African Americans can be understood as a human rights violation, the efficacy of the human rights framework for addressing racial injustice in the united States remains contested. In this article, I examine the relationship between the emergence and dominance of the geopolitical doctrine of human rights and the struggle for racial justice in the united States. through historical, legal, and sociological analysis of relevant issues and cases, I discern the benefits and limitations of the human rights framework for achieving racial justice and elucidate dynamics between relevant institutional, political, and social actors. I argue that the human rights framework opens international pathways for information, accountability, and symbolic politics conducive to combating racial injustice, particularly regarding overt manifestations of oppression and violence, but enduring issues such as the role of the state in racial politics and the dehumanization of people of color present hindrances.
“Identity and Racialization.”
Articles & Book Chapters Routledge International Handbook of Interactionism. Edited by D. Vom Lehn, N. Ruiz-Juno, and W. Gibson. Routledge.
Abstract
While the historical and ongoing symbolic and material inequalities and violence faced by African Americans can be understood as a human rights violation, the efficacy of the human rights framework for addressing racial injustice in the united States remains contested. In this article, I examine the relationship between the emergence and dominance of the geopolitical doctrine of human rights and the struggle for racial justice in the united States. through historical, legal, and sociological analysis of relevant issues and cases, I discern the benefits and limitations of the human rights framework for achieving racial justice and elucidate dynamics between relevant institutional, political, and social actors. I argue that the human rights framework opens international pathways for information, accountability, and symbolic politics conducive to combating racial injustice, particularly regarding overt manifestations of oppression and violence, but enduring issues such as the role of the state in racial politics and the dehumanization of people of color present hindrances.
“The War on Drugs, Racial Meanings, and Structural Racism: A Holistic and Reproductive Approach.”
Articles & Book Chapters American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 77(3-4):849-892.
Abstract
While the historical and ongoing symbolic and material inequalities and violence faced by African Americans can be understood as a human rights violation, the efficacy of the human rights framework for addressing racial injustice in the united States remains contested. In this article, I examine the relationship between the emergence and dominance of the geopolitical doctrine of human rights and the struggle for racial justice in the united States. through historical, legal, and sociological analysis of relevant issues and cases, I discern the benefits and limitations of the human rights framework for achieving racial justice and elucidate dynamics between relevant institutional, political, and social actors. I argue that the human rights framework opens international pathways for information, accountability, and symbolic politics conducive to combating racial injustice, particularly regarding overt manifestations of oppression and violence, but enduring issues such as the role of the state in racial politics and the dehumanization of people of color present hindrances.
“Book Review: Producers, Parasites, Patriots: Race and the New Right-Wing Politics of Precarity.”
Book & Media Reviews Ethnic and Racial Studies DOI:
10.1080/01419870.2020.171546.
“Book Review: Seeing Race Again: Countering Colorblindness across the Disciplines.”
Book & Media Reviews Contemporary Sociology 49(3): 255-257
"Race and Ethnic Politics."
Entries in Edited Volumes Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of
Sociology, 2nd Edition. Edited by G. Ritzer and C. Rojek. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell
Press.
“Book Review: Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism.”
Book & Media Reviews Social Forces 97(4):e1-e3.
“A Problem of Humanity”: The Human Rights Framework and the Struggle for Racial Justice
Articles & Book Chapters Sociology of Race and Ethnicity 4(3):338-352.
Abstract
While the historical and ongoing symbolic and material inequalities and violence faced by African Americans can be understood as a human rights violation, the efficacy of the human rights framework for addressing racial injustice in the united States remains contested. In this article, I examine the relationship between the emergence and dominance of the geopolitical doctrine of human rights and the struggle for racial justice in the united States. through historical, legal, and sociological analysis of relevant issues and cases, I discern the benefits and limitations of the human rights framework for achieving racial justice and elucidate dynamics between relevant institutional, political, and social actors. I argue that the human rights framework opens international pathways for information, accountability, and symbolic politics conducive to combating racial injustice, particularly regarding overt manifestations of oppression and violence, but enduring issues such as the role of the state in racial politics and the dehumanization of people of color present hindrances.
Book Review: The Race Whisperer: Barack Obama and the Political Uses of Race
Book & Media Reviews Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, DOI: 10.1177/2332649217707200 (2017)
“Decoding the Drug War: The Racial Politics of Digital Audience Reception.”
Articles & Book Chapters How Racialized Media is Designed, Delivered, and Decoded. M. Hughey and E. Lesser (eds). New York University Press.
“Distinctions, Dilemmas, and Dangers: Sociological Approaches to Race and Nationalism.”
Articles & Book Chapters Routledge International Handbook of
Contemporary Racisms. Edited by J. Solomos. Routledge.
“Sociology, Political Inequality, and Democracy Beyond 2020.”
Blogs, Essays, Research Reports, & Other Publications Sociological Forum DOI: 10.1111/socf.12610
“Sociology and the Racialized Moral Panic over 'CRT'.”
Blogs, Essays, Research Reports, & Other Publications Contexts: Understanding People in their Social Worlds.
“Even in a Year of Massive Reforms, Racist Myths Pervade the Drug Policy Debate.”
Blogs, Essays, Research Reports, & Other Publications Talking Drugs.
“Racial Justice Requires Ending the War on Drugs.”
Blogs, Essays, Research Reports, & Other Publications The American Journal of Biothics. https://doi.org/10.1080.15265161.2020.1861364
“Social Contact, Racial Equity, and Democracy: Evidence-Based Practices for Everyday Democracy.”
Blogs, Essays, Research Reports, & Other Publications Research report submitted to Everyday Democracy
“Make America White Again: The Racial Reasoning of American Nationalism.”
Articles & Book Chapters Systemic Racism in America: Sociological Theory, Education Inequality, and Social Change. Edited by H. Mahmoudi and R. Ray. Routledge Press.
Making Everyday Microaggressions: An Exploratory Experimental Vignette Study on the Presence and Power of Racial Microaggressions
Articles & Book Chapters Sociological Inquiry, Vol. xx, No. x, 2017, 1–35
Abstract
The term “microaggression” has experienced a lively existence in the field of psychology since its introduction in 1970s. Sociology has recently come to study microaggressions, yet serious gaps remain in the study of microaggressions. In particular, sociological analysis has not taken into account how exposure to microaggressive interactions may affect racial attitudes, how variations in microaggressive interactions have different effects, and what racial and gender positions render one more or less likely to engage in, or fail to oppose, microaggressions. Based on a GSS-based survey and an experimental vignette design, we address the following two questions: First, how might the presence of racial microaggressions affect racial attitudes? Second, what is the power of specific types of interactional microaggression? Results indicate that both exposure to microaggressions and the type of microaggressions are correlated with changes in specific racial attitudes associated with the marginalization, problematization, and symbolic and physical repression of people of color.
Boundaries and Barriers: Racialized Dynamics of Political Power.
Articles & Book Chapters Sociology Compass 10(10):939-951.
Abstract
Recent sociological works establish the significance and role of the state and political sphere in the enactment of racial oppression and construction of racial categories. However, less understood are the racialized dynamics that mediate exclusion and access to political power, particularly at the meso- and micro-levels. Synthesizing extant theory and research on racial inequality, the state, politics, and power, this article advances a framework centering on boundaries and barriers. First, it discusses the relationship between the state and political sphere, political power, and racial inequality. Next, it explores the literature on the deployment and contestation of racialized boundaries to the symbolic and material benefits of the state. It then examines the literature on racialized barriers to engagement, participation, and influence in the political sphere. The article concludes by suggesting future research in the related areas of agenda-setting and influence and the microdynamics of political power.
Speaking through Silence: Racial Discourse and Identity Construction in Mass Mediated Debates on the ‘War on Drugs’.”
Articles & Book Chapters Social Currents. 4(3):246-264
Abstract
As a set of criminal justice policies and practices, the “war on drugs” is a contested social issue linked to specific racial meanings and structures and political logics. As the legitimacy and value of the “war on drugs” has increasingly become a topic of public discussion, how such debates are shaped by both media communication and contemporary racial discourses warrants rigorous sociological analysis. In this article, we use a content analysis of newspaper manuscripts and online comments on “war on drugs” news stories to examine (1) the racial discourse within mass media agenda-setting and framing and (2) patterns of discursive identity construction in the context of digital and mass-mediated social commentary. Our findings show how “racial silence,” implicit and explicit racial discourse, and identity construction via racialized subject-positions assist to rationalize and legitimate racial inequality. We also outline the theoretical implications of these findings and avenues of future research.
Who’s Invited to the (Political) Party: Race and Party Politics in the United States.
Articles & Book Chapters Ethnic and Racial Studies Review,
Volume 39, Number 3, 325–332 (2016)
Abstract
From the political behemoths of the Democratic and Republican Parties, to the Civil Rights Era racially progressive Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and reactionary American Independent Party, to the contemporary third party Green and Libertarian Parties, party politics in the USA has a long and storied relationship to the reproduction and contestation of racial domination. Recent works illuminate the strategic use of racial discourse by major party political elites, their deployment of racialized political platforms, and the relationship of these phenomena to power dynamics and racial interests but have yet to fully move beyond the two-party system and engage with innovations in political and cultural sociology. We outline openings for an empirically-grounded sociology of political parties that would reveal the micro- and meso-level features of racialized party politics and the operations of discursive and performative power within both major and minor political parties.
Dramaturgical Domination: The Genesis and Evolution of the Racialized Interaction Order
Articles & Book Chapters Humanity & Society. 41(2):158-181.
Abstract
The history of racial domination in the United States is multifaceted and therefore cannot be explained through simple reference to ideologies or institutional structures. At the microlevel, racial domination is reproduced through social interactions. In this article, I draw on Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical approach to social interaction to illuminate the development of the racialized interaction order whereby actors racialized as white impose a set of implicit rules and underlying assumptions onto interracial interactions. I examine archetypal instances of racialized social interactions in America’s history and present-day to reveal the role of social interactions in racially structuring social institutions and everyday lives. First, I discuss the development and racialization of chattel slavery and its routinization as an interaction order. Next, I explore the dramaturgical and symbolic significance of the postbellum emergence and spread of racial terrorism such as white lynch mobs. I then analyze the contemporary discursive and performative strategies of white racial dominance and aspects of the contemporary racialized interaction order such as the de facto racialization of spatial boundaries, mass media and the digital sphere, and police violence. I conclude by discussing the significance of interactional analysis for understanding the present racialized social system.
Book Review: The Struggle for Black Freedom in Miami Civil Rights and America's Tourist Paradise, 1896-1968
Book & Media Reviews Ethnic and Racial Studies, DOI: 10.1080/01419870.2015.1124133 (2016)
"Dismantling Systemic Racism."
Articles & Book Chapters Sociologists in Action: Race and Ethnicity. Second Edition. Edited by K. O. Korgen and M. Atkinson. Sage. (First Edition Published in 2021)
Profits over People: Media Discourses of Corporate Diversity as ‘Good for Business’.
Articles & Book Chapters Underneath the Thin Veneer: Critical Diversity, Multiculturalism, and Inclusion in the Workplace a volume of Studies in Critical Social Sciences. Edited by D. Embrick, S. Collins, and M. Dodson. New York, NY: Brill (Forthcoming).
Howard Becker in Hyperspace: Social Learning in an On-line Drug Community
Articles & Book Chapters Deviant Behavior, Volume 36, Issue 9, Pages 725-739 (2015)
Abstract
Analyzing on-line drug communities provides important insights into the connection between computer-mediated communication and drug use in contemporary society. Drawing on social learning theory, we analyze conversations within the on-line community DMT-Nexus. We find that the on-line context affects the social learning process concerning drug use in distinct ways and identify how users gain relevant knowledge and interpretive strategies and acquire credibility. Based on these findings, we propose an expansion of Becker’s social learning model of drug use reflecting the unique constraints and opportunities of on-line contexts including the importance of vivid textual descriptions and modes of communication.
Book Review: Demonizing a President: The ‘Foreignization’ of Barack Obama
Book & Media Reviews The American Review of Politics
Book Review: Antiracism: An Introduction
Book & Media Reviews Terrorism and Political Violence.
"Book Review: The Last Plantation: Racism and Resistance in the Halls of Congress."
Book & Media Reviews Sociology of Race and Ethnicity.
"Book Review: Drug Wars and Covert Netherworlds"
Book & Media Reviews Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews 53(1):38-39.
"Book Review: Skin Color, Power, and Politics in America"
Book & Media Reviews Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Review 52(6):564-565.
"Book Review: Would Democratic Socialism Be Better?"
Book & Media Reviews Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews 52(5):449-450.
"Book Review: Shaking Up the City: Ignorance, Inequlity, and the Urban Question.:
Book & Media Reviews Contemporary Sociology: A Journal of Reviews.
Podcast Review: Yo, Is This Racist?: Racial Discourse and Comedic Articulations of Systemic Racism
Book & Media Reviews Humanity & Society, Volume 38, Issue 4, Pages 480-482 (2014)
Abstract
Yo, Is This Racist? is a popular comedy podcast hosted by self-proclaimed ‘‘race obsessed’’ comedy writer Andrew Ti. It has been profiled by mainstream news outlets including National Public Radio (NPR 2013) and The Huffington Post (Miller 2013). The podcast is based on Ti’s successful tumblr page (yoisthisracist.com) in which he answers queries about the relative racism of various situations, events, and people. Each episode features a prerecorded race-related question from a caller which Ti and a guest, generally a comedian or entertainer, discuss in an irreverent, profanity laced, and comedic manner and ultimately attempt to address the podcast’s titular question. In this media review, I analyze the content and premise of Yo, Is This Racist? and address major sociological concerns that emerge from its existence and popularity.
“Media Depictions of People of Color” and “Hate Crimes and their Impact on Communities of Color.”
Entries in Edited Volumes People of Color in the United States: Contemporary Issues in Education, Work, Communities, Health, and Immigration. Edited by P.B. Jackson. Santa Barbara, CA: Greenwood Press.
“Unemployment and Families” and “The ABCX Model of Family Stress and Coping.”
Entries in Edited Volumes The Encyclopedia of Family Studies. Edited by C. L. Shehan. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley-Blackwell Press.
People or Profits? How Business Media Outlets Make the ‘Business Case’ for Corporate Diversity Initiatives
Blogs, Essays, Research Reports, & Other Publications Blog Post for Work in Progress: The Blog of the American Sociological Association's Organizations, Occupations, and Work Section
Blog Post
One only need picture the typical American corporate boss (white, male, and wealthy) in order to conjure up the history of discrimination and inequality within the business realm. Over the past few decades, business leaders have attempted to address these problems through efforts oriented at increasing diversity. For instance, in 2014, major tech companies including Google, Apple, Twitter, and Facebook released their diversity statistics in reports to the media under pressure from journalists and activists. While the reports revealed the overwhelming white masculinity of the modern corporation, the companies still framed their statistics as reflecting their commitment to diversity. (Cont.)
"Pharmaceutical Maldistribution: Drug Shortages Reflect Defective Healthcare Policy."
Manuscripts under Review For Contexts: Understanding People in their Social Worlds
"Why Black Rights Matter: Political Rights Discourse in the Mississippi Freedom Movement, 1961-1966"
Manuscripts under Review
Consequences of Consciousness: How Racial Habits Shape Grassroots Political Strategies
Manuscripts in Progress
Teaching
I have a deep appreciation for the learning process and I devote a great deal of energy and reflection toward honing my pedagogical craft. My experiences and training have provided me the capabilities to educate a wide variety of students. I have acquired an effective approach to teaching that centers on combining the accessible elucidation of sociological concepts with sociologically informed discussions of real world issues. This approach enables students to develop their own abilities for critical thinking and social empathy while learning sociological insights in an engaging and approachable manner.
Here is a sample of courses I’ve recently taught at Molloy University:
“The function of the university is not simply to teach bread-winning, or to furnish teachers for the public schools or to be a centre of polite society; it is, above all, to be the organ of that fine adjustment between real life and the growing knowledge of life, an adjustment which forms the secret of civilization.”
–W. E. B. DuBois
Academic Conference and Colloquia Presentations
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2025 BOSTON
“Colorblind Peace: Unveiling Racism and Race in Peace Scholarship,” Eastern Sociological Society Annual Conference, Boston, MA
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2025 BOSTON
“Democracy is Awkward: Grappling with Racism in Grassroots Political Organizing,” Eastern Sociological Society Mini-Conference on Race, Class, Culture, and US Politics, Boston, MA
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2023 WASHINGTON, DC
“Understanding Morality in a Racialized Society” (with Candice C. Robinson), Social Science History Association Annual Meeting, Washington, DC.
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2023 PHILADELPHIA
“Reflections on Grassroots Coalitions in Racial Politics,” American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA
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2023 ROCKVILLE CENTRE
“Everyday Racial Politics: Racialized Awareness, Actions, and Areas in Grassroots Progressive Politics,” Faculty Scholarship and Academic Advancement Committee Spring Research Day, Molloy University, Rockville Centre, NY
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2021 CAMBRIDGE
“Debating the Drug War: Racial Politics, Mass Media, and the War on Drugs,” Department of Sociology Seminar Series, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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2021 ROCKVILLE CENTER
“Debating the Drug War: Racial Politics, Mass Media, and the War on Drugs,” Faculty Scholarship and Academic Advancement Committee Spring Research Day, Molloy University, Rockville Centre, NY
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2020 JACKSONVILLE
“The Racial Geography of Democracy: Racialized Space and Community Among Grassroots Progressives,” Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting, Jacksonville, FL
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2019 NEW YORK
“Blue State Blues: Regionality, Racial Meanings, and Reactions in Political Identity Construction,” American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, New York, NY
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2019 UCONN
“Consequences of Consciousness: How Racial Habits shape Grassroots Political Strategies,” Lunchtime Seminar, University of Connecticut Human Rights Institute, Storrs, CT
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2019 BOSTON
“Decoding the Drug War: The Racial Politics of Digital Audience Reception,” Eastern Sociological Society Mini-Conference on Digital Sociology, Boston, MA
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2019 BOSTON
“Consequences of Consciousness: How Racial Habits Shape Grassroots Political Strategies,” Eastern Sociological Society Mini-Conference on Race and Organizations, Boston, MA
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2019 HARTFORD
“Democracy and Social Contact: Research and Practice,” Everyday Democracy Strengthening Democratic Capacity Unit Retreat, Hartford, CT
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2018 PHILADELPHIA
“The Racial Politics of Meaning in Media and Everyday Life,” Presidential Panel, Society for the Study of Symbolic Interactionism Mini-Conference on The Roots and Branches of Interpretive Sociology: Cultural, Pragmatist, and Psychosocial Approaches, Philadelphia, PA
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2018 PHILADELPHIA
Panelist, “Getting Published in Social Problems and the Student Editorial Board,” Society for the Study of Social Problems Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA
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2018 PHILADELPHIA
“Consequences of Consciousness: How Racial Habits Shape Grassroots Political Strategies,” Society for the Study of Social Problems Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA
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2018 PHILADELPHIA
“Blue State Blues: Regionality, Racial Meanings, and Reactions in the Construction of Political Identity,” American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA
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2018 NEW ORLEANS
“Making Everyday Microaggressions: An Exploratory Vignette Study on the Presence and Power of Racial Microaggressions,” (with Matthew W. Hughey), Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA
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2018 NEW ORLEANS
“Progressive Whiteness: Racial Habits and Grassroots Political Strategies,” Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA
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2017 MONTREAL
“From Ideology to Identity: Racial Meanings in the ‘War on Drugs’ Debate,” Society for the Study of Social Problems Annual Meeting, Montreal, QC
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2017 MONTREAL
“‘A Problem of Humanity’: The Human Rights Framework and the Struggle for Racial Justice,” American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Montreal, QC
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2017 UCONN
“‘A Problem of Humanity’: The Human Rights Framework and the Struggle for Racial Justice,” Borderlands Research Symposium, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
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2017 BOSTON
“From Ideology to Identity: Racial Meanings in the ‘War on Drugs’ Debate,” 12th Social Theory Forum, Boston, MA
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2016 SEATTLE
“Dramaturgical Domination: The Genesis and Evolution of the Racialized Interaction Order,” Society for the Study of Social Problems Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA
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2016 SEATTLE
“Why Black Rights Matter: Discursive Constructions of Black Political Rights in the Mississippi Freedom Movement,” American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA
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2016 SEATTLE
“The White Pages: A Meta-Analysis of Journal Articles on Whiteness,” (with Matthew W. Hughey), American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA
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2016 UCONN
“Speaking through Silence: Racial Discourse and Identity Construction in Mass Mediated Debates on the ‘War on Drugs’,” Borderlands Research Symposium, University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
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2016 BOSTON
“The Generic Processes of White Racial Identity Formation: A Sociology of Sociology,” (with Matthew W. Hughey), Eastern Sociological Society Annual Meeting, Boston, MA
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2016 BOSTON
“Pipeline or Prejudice: Media Narratives of Barriers and Downsides in Corporate Diversity Initiatives,” (with Devon R. Goss), Eastern Sociological Society Annual Meeting, Boston, MA
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2015 CHICAGO
“Colorblind and Callous Critiques: Racial Discourse and Identity Construction in Debates on the ‘War on Drugs’,” (with Matthew W. Hughey), American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL
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2015 CHICAGO
“Profits over People: Media Discourses of Corporate Diversity as ‘Good for Business’,” (with Devon R. Goss and Matthew W. Hughey), Society for the Study of Social Problems Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL
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2014 NEW YORK
“Colorblind Critiques: Racial Discourse in Mass Media Debates on the ‘War on Drugs’,” (with Matthew W. Hughey), Eastern Sociological Society Annual Meeting, New York, NY
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2014 CINCINNATI
“Reflexive Validation: Knowledge and Meaning Construction in Online Communities,” North Central Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Cincinnati, OH
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2014 CINCINNATI
“Reflexive Validation: Knowledge and Meaning Construction in Online Communities,” Charles Phelps Taft Research Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
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2013 NEW YORK
Describing the Indescribable: Interpretation, Discourse, and Social Learning within an Online Drug Community,” Society for the Study of Social Problems Annual Meeting, New York, NY
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2013 INDIANAPOLIS
Casualties of America's Longest Running War: The War on Drugs and its Effects on Black Families,” North Central Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Indianapolis, IN
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2013 CINCINNATI
Describing the Indescribable: Interpretation, Discourse, and Social Learning within an Online Drug Community,” Charles Phelps Taft Research Center, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
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2012 PITTSBURGH
Racial Ideology: Approaches to, and Applications of the Concept in Recent Social and Behavioral Research,” North Central Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA
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2011 CLEVELAND
Unemployment’s Effects on Relationships and Individuals within Families,” North Central Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Cleveland, OH
Media Features, Interviews, and Consultations
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2024
Interviewed by Marcus Bland on racial politics and college student voter registration for Open Campus Media
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2022
Research consultation on racialized moral panics for director Ron Cicero for in-production documentary Zebra for Invader film production
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2022
Interviewed by Aaron Akulis for the Peace on Drugs podcast on drug policy and racial oppression
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2022
Appeared on a panel on politics, trauma, and racial oppression on Revolutionary Blackout Network
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2021
Interviewed by SunAh Laybourn for the radio program & podcast Let’s Grab Coffee on WYXR 91.7FM on the war on drugs
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2021
Interviewed by Abha Awasthi for the Down the Research Rabbit Hole podcast on sociological research on drug policy, racial inequality, and mass media
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2021
Interviewed by Chris Till for the Digital Sociology podcast on digital media, racial inequality, and drug policy
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2021
Interviewed by Jay Shifman on the Choose Your Struggle podcast on the War on Drugs
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2021
Interviewed by Daniel Morrison on the Annex podcast on sociological research, racial politics, media, drug policy, and grassroots democracy
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2021
Interviewed by Elle Rochford and Andrew Shriver on the Proofing and Lies podcast on racial politics and drug policy
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2021
Interviewed by Eglė Krištopaitytė for Lithuanian news site 15min.lt on Chauvin verdict and implications for racial justice, article “US sociologist: Armed cops aren't always the best response to many crises” (translated from Lithuanian)
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2021
Quoted in “Two types of people get involved in local-group campaigning. Most campaigning organisations inadvertently appeal to the least-effective type” by Duncan Exley, Linkedin Blog
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2021
Interviewed by Rachel Stuart for the New Books Network podcast on racial politics and drug policy
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2021
Interviewed by Matthew Wilkins on the Sociology Show podcast on racial politics, drug policy, and grassroots democracy
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2021
Interviewed by reporter Eglė Krištopaitytė for Lithuanian news site 15min.lt on racial politics and the War on Drugs in the U.S.
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2020
Interviewed by reporter Eglė Krištopaitytė for Lithuanian news site 15min.it on racial politics and the War on Drugs in the U.S.
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2019
Interviewed by and provided research consultation on racial consciousness among white progressives for New York Times reporter Amy Harmon
Workshops, Webinars, Invited Talks, & Community Engagement
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2024
Presenter, “Applying Sociology: Community, Change, and Careers,” First Year Experience Social Hour, Molloy University
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2023
“The War on Drugs, Race, and the Media,” Molloy University, Rockville, NY
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2023
Panel Moderator, “Service, Democratic Ethics, and Community and Personal Improvement,” Martin Luther King Day of Service, Molloy University
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2023
Keynote Speaker, “Unearthing Pathways to Consciousness and Action,” Martin Luther King Day of Service, Molloy University
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2022
Guest Lecture on the War on Drugs, Racial and Ethnic Group Relations, UNC-Wilmington
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2021
Guest Lecture on the War on Drugs, Racial and Ethnic Group Relations, UNC-Wilmington
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2021
Guest Lecture on Drug Policy, Health Policy, Washington & Jefferson College
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2021
Guest Lecture on Drug Policy, Introduction to Public Policy, Washington & Jefferson College
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2021
Panelist, Panel on Inclusion in Teaching and Research, Molloy University Faculty Professional Center Spring Faculty Institute, Molloy University
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2021
Organizer (with Jeanne Kimpel, Matthew Applegate, and Max Renner), “Days of Dialogue: Sharing Stories of Microaggressions and Microaffirmations,” Molloy University
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2020
Presenter/Research Consultant, “Debating the Drug War: Media Framing, Racial Justice, and Implications for Policy Messaging,” Policy Team - Drug Policy Alliance
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2020
Presenter, “Applying Sociology: Community, Change, and Careers,” First Year Experience – FST Friday, Molloy University
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2019
Research Support, Webinar on Racial Equity for Anchor Partners, Everyday Democracy
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2019
Participant, Everyday Democracy Train-the-Facilitator Training, The Commission on Racial and Ethnic Disparity in the Criminal Justice System
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2019
Panelist, Navigating the Annual Meeting Webinar, American Sociological Association
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2019
Participant, Community Dialogue on Immigrant and Refugee Justice, Everyday Democracy
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2019
Presenter, Institute for Community Change Leaders Webinar on Using Dialogue in Community Change Work, Everyday Democracy
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2018
Participant, A Time to Talk: Poverty, Criminal Justice, and Race, Poverty, Criminal Justice, and Race Collaborative of Connecticut
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2018
Participant, “Cross-Cultural and Diversity Inclusiveness Training for Graduate Students,” Institute for Collaborative Health Interventions and Policy, University of Connecticut
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2017
Participant/Discussant, “The Politics of Social Change,” Department of Sociology, University of Connecticut
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2017
Participant, “Media Training for Scholars and Researchers,” Drug Policy Alliance - Office of Academic Engagement
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2015-2017
Participant, Research in the Borderlands: An Interdisciplinary Workshop Series for Critical Researchers, El Instituto: Institute of Latina/o, Caribbean, and Latin American Studies and the Department of Sociology, University of Connecticut
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2009-2010
Participant/Facilitator, Justice Talking Discussion Group, AmeriCorps and American Red Cross of Greater Columbus
Service
I serve on a number of committees and belong to a variety of scholarly organizations to which I contribute.
Journal and Scholarly Press Service
- 2016-2024: Editorial Board Member, Sociology Compass - Race and Ethnicity
- 2014-2018: Student Advisory Editor, Social Problems
- 2014-2018: Social Media Committee, Social Problems
- 2014-Present: Manuscript or Prospectus Reviewer, Critical Sociology; Humanity & Society; Social Currents; Sociology Compass; International Journal of Drug Policy; Sociology of Race and Ethnicity; Routledge Press; Social Problems; Drugs: Education, Prevention & Policy; Sociological Spectrum; Ethnic and Racial Studies; Journal of Hate Studies; Psychology of Violence; American Behavioral Scientist; Sociological Forum; Journal of Psychoactive Drugs; Sage Publishing; Media and Communication; American Journal of Sociology; Race and Social Problems; The Open Psychology Journal; Sociological Inquiry; Global Media and China; Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment; MIT Press; Politics, Groups, and Identities; Politics, Religion & Ideology; Healthcare; Social Justice Research; Family Process; Du Bois Review; Sociology Lens
Association Service
- 2024-2025: Member, American Sociological Association Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities, James E. Blackwell Graduate Student Paper Award Selection Committee
- 2023-2025: Member, American Sociological Association Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award Selection Committee
- 2022-Present: Faculty Mentor, Alpha Kappa Delta International Honors Society of Sociology Mentoring Program
- 2020-2022: Co-Representative, Alpha Rho Chapter of New York, Alpha Kappa Delta International Honors Society of Sociology
- 2021-2022: Grant Application Assessment, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
- 2017-2019: Newsletter Editor, Society for the Study of Social Problems, Division on Racial and Ethnic Minorities
- 2015-2017: Mentorship Committee, American Sociological Society, Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities
Association Membership
- 2023-Present: Social Science History Association
- 2019-2020: Du Boisian Scholars Network
- 2017-2020: Southern Sociological Society
- 2017-2018: Association for Humanist Sociology
- 2016-2017: Society for the Study of Symbolic Association
- 2015-Present: Eastern Sociological Society
- 2010-Present: American Sociological Association: Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities
- 2010-Present: American Sociological Association: Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements
- 2010-Present: American Sociological Association: Section on Communication, Information Technologies, and Media Sociology
- 2010-Present: American Sociological Association: Political Sociology
- 2010-Present: American Sociological Association: Section on Human Rights
- 2012-2019: Society for the Study of Social Problems: Division on Racial and Ethnic Minorities
- 2012-2019: Society for the Study of Social Problems: Division on Social Problems Theory
- 2010-2014: North Central Sociological Association
Conference Service
- 2023: Organizer and Discussant, “The Politics of Solidarity: Coalitions, Community, and Conflict,” Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Philadelphia, PA
- 2019: Panel Presider, “Populism: Left & Right,” Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, New York, NY
- 2018: Session Presider, “Rage, Anger, and Dissent for Social Change,” Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Philadelphia, PA
- 2018: Session Co-Organizer (with Matthew W. Hughey), “The Everyday Racial Mechanisms of Structural Inequality,” Society for the Study of Symbolic Interactionism Mini-Conference on The Roots and Branches of Interpretive Sociology: Cultural, Pragmatist, and Psychosocial Approaches, Philadelphia, PA
- 2018: Session Discussant, “The Kerner Report at 50, Part II: Politics, Programs, Possibilities, and Paradoxes,” Mini-Conference on The Fiftieth Anniversary of the Kerner Commission Report (1968-2018), Annual Meeting of the Southern Sociological Society, New Orleans, LA
- 2018: Session Presider, “The Kerner Report at 50, Part I: Poverty, Policy, and Policing,” Mini-Conference on The Fiftieth Anniversary of the Kerner Commission Report (1968-2018), Annual Meeting of the Southern Sociological Society, New Orleans, LA
- 2017: Session Presider, “Race, Class, and Corporate Capitalism,” Annual Meeting of the Association for Humanist Sociology, Havana, Cuba
- 2017: Session Presider, “Race, Rights, and Representation,” Annual Meeting of the Association for Humanist Sociology, Havana, Cuba
- 2017: Session Presider, “Trump, White Victimhood, and Post-Colorblindness,” Annual Meeting of the Association for Humanist Sociology, Havana, Cuba
- 2017: Session Presider, “Roundtable on Social Movements and Storytelling,” American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Montreal, QC
- 2017: Session Organizer, “Racial Politics, Law, and the State," 12th Social Theory Forum, Boston, MA
- 2017: Session Co-Organizer (with Corey Dolgon), "Race and the Working Poor," Society for the Study of SOcial Problems Annual Meeting, Montreal, QC
- 2016: Session Presider, "30 Years since Racial Formation: Promises, Pitfalls, and Prospects," Society for the study of Social Problems Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA
- 2016: Session Organizer, “A Sociology of Success: Getting it Right in the Global Fight for Racial Justice,” Society for the Study of Social Problems Annual Meeting, Seattle, WA
Department Service
- 2016-2017: Graduate Executive (Position Shared with Miranda Wu), Executive Committee, Department of Sociology, University of Connecticut
- 2015, 2017: SSS Portal Selection Committee, Student Support Services, Institute for Student Success, University of Connecticut
- 2011-2013: Student Faculty Representative, Department of Sociology Graduate Student Lyceum, University of Cincinnati
National and Community Service
- 2009-2010: Community Disaster Education Instructor, American Red Cross of Greater Columbus, AmeriCorps National Service, Columbus, OH
- 2009-2010: AmeriCorps/ARC-GC ‘Justice Talking’ Discussion Group Discussion Leader/Facilitator, Columbus, OH
- 2007-2008: Delaware People in Need, Inc., Office Intern and Food Pantry Volunteer, Delaware, OH