Bearing Strange Fruit: How Structural Violence, Disinvestment and Logic Harm Our Youth

Richard Lofton, PhD
Assistant Professor
Johns Hopkins School of Education
Principal Investigator
Nobody Asked Me Campaign

Dr. Richard Lofton is a sociologist of education, applied researcher, theorist, activist, policy influencer, and educator.  His funded research has examined academic placement, racially diverse schools, mentoring programs, concentrated poverty, and social and emotional development. Dr. Lofton has been funded by the Spencer Foundation, Gates Foundation, Education Innovation and Research Grant, American Sociological Association, National Science Foundation, Arnold Foundation, and Baltimore Community Foundation.  He received an early career award at Johns Hopkins University with the Catalyst Grant.  His research positions African American students, parents, and community members not as the problem but rather as an integral part of the solution to equity, justice and the humanization of their lived experiences. Currently, Dr. Lofton is the Principal Investigator of the Nobody Asked Me Campaign.  Through this research campaign, Dr. Lofton, his research team, and an advisory board comprised of community activists, city agency directors, school board members, school district leaders, and experts center the voices and experiences of over 300 African American students and their parents in Baltimore as they relate to education, violence, transportation, housing, and school infrastructure. Their goal is to co-produce policies, strategies, and practices along with African American parents, students, and community members to promote equity and justice in educational resources, opportunities, and experiences. 

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