Research Areas
Interests
Atlantic History, Historiography, Caribbeanist Historiography, Aquatic History, Political Ecology, Riverine and Littoral Spaces (West/Central Africa), Race (Blackness), Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, Political Theory
Contact Information
Biography
I am a PhD Student and Fulbright Scholar from SE London, England, in the Geography Department at the University of California, Berkeley. I am also part of the Berkeley Black Geographies Project. My research focuses on the aquatic histories of the Atlantic World and the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, specifically charting the origins of racialisation and the association of Blackness with danger in the riverine, littoral waterscapes of West/Central Africa.
My research project is concerned with understanding the conditions whereby Blackness became associated with danger, terror, and criminality. I am interested in the origins of this in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade and in sequentially theorizing three spatial contexts: (1) the riverine environments of the west/central African interior, (2) the littoral and coastal areas of this region, and (3) the slave ship and the shark. I will examine the processes which developed an association between Blackness and danger using the themes of risk, fear, and domination. In making these connections, my project will show how the long shadow of these associations reproduces the condition of Black subjugation through incarceration. Thus I show how the terrorization of the enslaved became terrorizing to the enslavers, how for the enslavers the enslaved became Black, and how Black became dangerous and criminalized.
Education
BSc Politics and International Relations, University of Bristol (UK)
First Class with Honors, awarded October 2020
Study Abroad Exchange Year, University of California, Berkeley - (2018/2019)
University of California Education Abroad Program
Focus: Ancient History and African American Studies
Additional Interests
I am interested in thinking through the danger of Blackness, and how this works beyond associations with criminalization and incarceration (Alexander, 2012). From within the context of the Black child, specifically the Black male teenager in the K-12 setting, I will investigate Special Educational Needs and 'challenging behavior'. This is a site that is both the extension of, and reproduction of, the historical association between Blackness and danger (Annamma, 2018; Brown et al, 2017). My work will also investigate and theorize disabled learning profiles within the political context of Blackness, exclusion and rebellion.
I will argue that an association between Blackness and danger was formalized in the interior spaces and waterscapes of West/Central Africa and on board the Slave Ship. Hence processes involving disabled Black children can be understood through the association between Blackness and danger, using the themes of risk, fear, and domination. The pathologization of non-disabled Black children then further 'Blackens' their educational experience, creating confinement within the school setting. These are spaces that can be physical detention units or are present conceptually in hostile pedagogical practices (Annamma, 2018). The management of the enslaved, including the invocation of an adult/child distinction - understood using these themes - then forms a historical template through which to understand Special Educational Needs and disabled learning profiles (Simplican, 2015).
References
Annamma, S.A. (2018) The Pedagogy of Pathologization: Dis/abled Girls of Color in the School-prison Nexus: The Pedagogy of Pathologization. New York: Routledge.
Brown, L. et al (eds) (2017) All the Weight of Our Dreams: On Living Racialized Autism. Lincoln, NE: DragonBee Press.
Simplican, S. Clifford. (2015) Capacity Contract Intellectual Disability and the Question of Citizenship. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.
community engagement
At UC Berkeley, I am an active neurodiversity advocate, campaigner and policy developer. In Fall 2022, I was nominated to serve on the UC Berkeley Graduate Divisions' inaugural 'Neurodiversity Task Force' - an initiative I helped to develop for the 2022/2023 academic year.
As a Graduate Student Researcher at UC Berkeley’s University Health Service, I am the Chair of the UC Berkeley Neurodiversity Initiative. This initiative is a component of the Student Affairs 3–5-year Strategic Initiative, with the charge of improving support for neurodiverse students. The Initiative includes two projects. The first is the development and launch of a Neurodiversity Clinic at UC Berkeley, which would offer students holistic diagnostic evaluation, support and empowerment, along with campus services and training to integrate and direct support of Neurodiverse students across campus. The second project is to ensure that health, well-being and disability justice are central to the university's fundraising and development efforts in the medium to long term. This involves me working at the intersection of research, community engagement, administrative management and grant writing. I lead a core team of five staff members of various backgrounds and seniorities. As part of my role, Peter Cornish and Martha Velasquez are acting as my co-mentors.
I am also an advocate for disabled students and the politics of disability. As Project Director for the Graduate Assemblies Disabled Students Advocacy Project (2021- 2022), I co-wrote the 'DSP Crisis Quick Guide', and co-founded the Access, Learning and Leadership (ALL) at UC Berkeley initiative (formerly Accessibility Beyond Compliance) with fellow Graduate Student Rosa Enriquez, M.S.W. The initiative secured $120k to use over a two-year development plan. ALL aims to create communities of staff, faculty and graduate students with the knowledge and resources to make their educational environment more accessible, trauma- informed, and culturally responsive. Our program uses the #InclusiveByDesign framework developed by Stanford researcher Dr Lakshmi Balasubramanian and trauma-informed education research from Berkeley researcher Dr Renee Starowicz.
I have also authored a 24-page report named 'Exclusion by Design: An Infrastructure of Inaccessibility, and Systematic Disability Discrimination Practices.' This report examines the practices that lead to exclusion and discrimination against graduate students with disabilities. The report offers programmatic and policy improvements to better support graduate students. Although this report continues to prove controversial, it offered a launching point for a Fireside Chat with UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ on Disabled graduate students, and the agenda of the Graduate Divisions Neurodiversity Task Force.
During my time as a Diversity and Community Fellow (2021/2022 – 2022/2023), I co-led the development of the Graduate Student Child Welfare System Impacted Youth Initiative. Working alongside the Berkeley Hope Scholars (BHS), we organized the first town hall for this community under the Graduate Division's leadership. Our goals were to establish a new definition for child welfare system impacted youth, replace the outdated Federal definition of Foster Youth, and modify the Berkeley graduate application process to reflect this new definition. Additionally, we ensured that affected students were immediately directed to relevant campus services, received monthly funding for dinner, participated in a dual-mentorship model program, and doubled scholarship funding for Graduate students impacted by the child welfare system. Starting in Fall 2022, graduate students who've experienced the child welfare system will get $6k in scholarships, double the previous amount. This resulted in $40k in additional annual funding for this group of students.
I presented my strategic plan and achievements at the National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) conference (Region 9) with BHS Director Charly King Beavers in 2022, to spur wider development. This led to me receiving the first-ever UC Regents Leadership Award for services to Foster Youth (2022).
active initiatives and programming
1. Fellow, Co-founder and Student Affiliate @ Access, Learning and Leadership (ALL) at UC Berkeley - (Spring 2022 to Present)
ALL at UC Berkeley’s mission is to create a more inclusive and accessible educational environment by promoting Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and fostering culturally sustaining practices through engaging workshops and valuable resources. Our initiative offers a series of transformative workshops designed to empower various stakeholders within the university community, including faculty, staff and GSIs. Our approach transcends compliance and aims to challenge deep-rooted culture. We firmly believe that there is no mythical ‘average’ learner, that variability is the norm, and that clear goals with flexible means reduce barriers and create an accessible learning journey for all. We have over $120k of multi-year funding and are the proud recipients of grant awards from the Big C Fund, Wellness Fund, and Chancellors Advisory Committee on Student Services and Fees. We have partnerships with the Division of Equity and Inclusion the Neurodiversity Task Force of UC Berkeley Graduate Division and are housed in the Disability Cultural Community Center.
2. Graduate Student Researcher and Chair @ UC Berkeley Neurodiversity Initiative (Spring 2023 and Fall 2023)
This initiative is a component of the Student Affairs 3–5-year Strategic Initiative, with the charge of improving support for neurodiverse students. The Initiative includes two projects: 1) designing, building and launching a specialist Neurodiversity Clinic for students and 2) making health, wellness and disability justice a central component of the university's fundraising and development efforts.
Media Engagement
I have received numerous awards for my community engagement and also UK press attention for my advocacy, including website and YouTube profiles in The Times, Times Radio, ITV This Morning, BBC Radio 4 Today, and Ian Wright’s Everyday People podcast, and have been interviewed by Ben-Oní on their Black Neurodiversity Podcast. I have also been invited to contribute chapters to two edited collections, Black, Brilliant and Dyslexic: Neurodivergent Heroes Tell their Stories and Square Pegs: Inclusivity, compassion and fitting in – a guide for schools, both focusing on my neurodiversity advocacy and biography.
academic appointments
Graduate Student Researcher (50%): UHS Neurodiversity Project – Student Mental Health – University Health Services (Spring 2023)
Graduate Student Reader: Urban Studies - 70AC Professor Brandi Summers (Spring 2021)
Graduate Student Researcher: Geography Department Anti-Racism Working Group (Fall 2020 to Spring 2021)
Scholarships & Awards
The Heumann-Armstrong Award 2023, The Coelho Center for Disability Law, Loyola Marymount University and Equal Opportunities for Students
- This is a National Award co-created by Disability Rights activist Judith Heumann. It is awarded to six students annually from 6th Grade through Higher Education who have experienced and combated ableism in education and demonstrated leadership in Disability Justice.
The University of California Regents Leadership Award for Services to Foster Youth 2022, University of California
- Awarded by President Michael Drake and Chair of the Regents Richard Leib; I was the inaugural recipient of this now annual award.
The Fulbright Scholarship: The Fulbright All Discipline Award (2020/2021) - US-UK Fulbright Commission
The Fulbright Alumni Award:(2020/2021)
- Awarded to Fulbrighters who ‘embody exceptional ambassadorial qualities’, limited to one annual award. It is the highest additional accreditation the US-UK Fulbright Commission can give.
Fellowships
Harvard History Project Research Grant (2022/2023) – Harvard University, Center for History and Economics, History Department, Faculty of Arts and Sciences
- Selective and merit-based small grant fellowship available, open to scholars from around the world
The John L. Simpson Pre-Dissertation Research Fellowship in International & Area Studies (2022/2023) – UC Berkeley, Global, International and Area Studies (GIAS)
- Selective and merit-based small grant fellowship available to UC Berkeley Graduate students conducting pre-dissertation summer research
Political Economy of Technology Research Fund (2022/2023) – UC Berkeley, The Berkeley Economy and Society Initiative (BESI)
- Selective and merit-based small grant fellowship available to UC Berkeley PhD Students in the College of Letters and Science
BIPOC Scholarship (2022/2023) – Point Foundation, LGBT Scholarship Fund
- Selective merit & identity-based small grant awarded to BIPOC LGBT Students for their community engagement, activism, and educational attainment
Geography Department Summer Research Fellowship (2022/2023) - UC Berkeley
- Merit-based fellowship fund available to Geography PhD students conducting research over the summer.
Diversity and Community Fellow, UC Berkeley Graduate Division (2021/2022 – 2022/2023)
- Fellows advance and implement the diversity and inclusion goals of the Office for Graduate Diversity and the Graduate Division.
Andrew W. Mellon Black Studies Collaboratory Summer Fellowship (2021/2022) - UC Berkeley African-American Studies Department
- Selective and merit-based small grants available to faculty, staff and students whose research centers ‘Blackness’ and collaboration.
Geography Department Summer Research Fellowship (2021/2022) - UC Berkeley
- Selective and merit-based fellowship fund available to Geography PhD students conducting research over the summer.
R. Kirk Underhill Graduate Fellowship (2020/2021) - UC Berkeley
- Selective and merit-based fellowship, awarded to graduate students whose research focuses on Anglo-American affairs, and US-UK relations or comparisons.
conferences & symposia
University of California Office of the President, Student Mental Health Conference, UC Davis, CA – October 4th to 5th
- At the conference, I was invited by Genie Kim, the UCOP director of student mental health, to present my work and the UC Berkeley Neurodiversity Initiative at the plenary session of this conference. It was not scheduled, and I did a 15-20 presentation without notes or slides.
Stanford Global Neurodiversity Summit, Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA – October 3rd 2023 [virtual]
- Panellist, title: Black Neurodiverse Graduate Student Experience
University of Washington, Department of Geography Colloquium, Seattle, WA - April 14th 2023 [virtual]
- Panelist, title: Communities of Care for Disability in the Academy and Beyond
American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting 2023, Denver, CO - March 24th 2023 [virtual]
- Panelist, title: Cripping Geographical Research
Andrew W. Mellon Black Studies Collaboratory Small Grantee Symposium 2022, UC Berkeley, CA - September 9th, 2022
- Panelist, title: ‘The Death Walk: Special Educational Needs and Psychiatry as Encounters of Confinement’
National Academic Advising Association (NACADA) Region 9/CAL-CAAN Conference 2022, Orange County, CA – March 16th–18th, 2022
- Co-Lead Workshop Facilitator/Presenter, title: ‘Don't Stop, Won't Stop: From Foster Care to Graduate School’
MediaX at Stanford University series: Flying Without Co-pilots: Opportunities to Bridge Gaps in the Support Ecosystem for Children with Autism, Stanford, CA – January 12th, 2022 [virtual]
- Panelist, title: ‘The Relationship between Blackness, Autism and Carcerality’
The Al Noor Global Summit 2021: Frontiers of Disability Rehabilitation and Inclusion International Virtual Conference, Dubai UAE –December 11th -12th , 2021 [virtual]
- An international conference sponsored by a Dubai/UAE Educational Initiative
- Panelist, title: ‘Academic Ableism, Racism and Social Mobility Narratives’
UC Berkeley Leadership Academy Neurodiversity Workshop – UC Berkeley, CA - October 28th, 2021 [virtual]
- Keynote Panelist, title: ‘Neurodivergence, Race and Educational Displacement’