LOS ANGELES – Loyola Marymount University has faculty experts available to respond to media inquiries about Black History Month and related issues. LMU professors specializing in African American history, civil rights, Black activism and sport, reparations, and diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace can provide context and commentary to stories about the contributions of African Americans in Los Angeles, California, and beyond.
LMU’s Black History Month events, speakers and recommended reads can be found here.
Email news@lmu.edu, or call our Media Line, 310.258.4636, to request an interview with these and other LMU faculty members:
Shaun Anderson, Associate Professor of Organizational Communication
An expert on sports and social justice and diversity and leadership in sport, Anderson is the author of “The Black Athlete Revolt: The Sport Justice Movement in the Age of #BlackLivesMatter,” which debuts on Feb 8, 2023. The book examines how Black athletes have used their influence to create meaningful change and reform for Black Americans. He can comment on notable individuals in the history of Black activism, and the crucial role of Black athletes beyond the world of sports. He is the faculty advisor for LMU’s Institute of Business Ethics and Sustainability.
Media: KQED, The Huffington Post, Medium.com, Western City Magazine, and WorldPolicy.org
Jalylah Burrell, Assistant Professor, African American Studies
Burrell’s research and teaching are focused on African Diasporic literature and popular culture and are enhanced by her experience as a multiplatform storyteller — pop culture critic, digital producer, oral historian, and deejay. She earned her B.A. in English from Spelman College, an M.A. in Africana Studies from New York University, and her Ph.D. in American Studies and African American Studies from Yale University. Her current book project is tentatively titled “Capacity for Laughter: Black Women and the American Comedic Tradition.”
Marne Campbell, Associate Professor and Chair of African American Studies
Campbell is the author of “Making Black Los Angeles,” which explores the intersections of race, class, and gender in early L.A., and has completed an database of almost every African American family in the city from 1850-1910. Her article, “African American Women, Wealth Accumulation, and Social Welfare Activism in 19th Century Los Angeles,” published in the Journal of African American History, considers the integral role of African American women in securing rights for their community such as equal education and public transportation, and connects their experiences with those of Black women in the North and South during the second half of the 19th century. She is working on a book exploring the role of race and gender in the shaping of the local criminal justice system.
Media: KCRW-FM, Black Christian News Network, Cal Matters, Los Angeles Sentinel, LAist, Urban Land
Malcolm Frierson, Visiting Assistant Professor of African American Studies
Frierson’s research centers on the politics of African American comedy from the Civil Rights Movement to the present. “Freedom in Laughter,” his book published by SUNY Press, is credited for highlighting “the connections between artistic expression and activism as a mutual exchange in the process of continuing to enlighten, inspire, and transform a painfully divided society.” Frierson is a member of the Laughing Matters Council, a strategic advisory committee established by the communications firm Peppercomm to provide insight into how humor can promote diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace.
Media: Denver Post, Dallas Morning News
Cheryl Tawede Grills, President’s Professor of Psychology, LMU Bellarmine College of Liberal Arts; Director of the Psychology Applied Research Center (PARC)
Grills was appointed in May 2021 by Gov. Gavin Newsom to serve on the first-in-the-nation state level task force to address reparations in California. A clinical psychologist with a current emphasis in community psychology, Grills’ work focuses on supporting the needs of communities of color using research and community-centered models of prevention and treatment for mental, physical, and community health. She is a national past president of the Association of Black Psychologists, and the founder of nonprofit Imoyase Community Support Services.
Media: CNN, Associated Press, KQED, ABC-7, KPCC-FM, KCRW, KCBS, NPR, PBS NewsHour, KGET TV-17 (NBC), USA Today, Los Angeles Sentinel, Washington Post
Eric Miller, Law Professor and Co-Director, Loyola Anti-Racism Center and Policing Los Angeles Forum
Miller is an internationally known scholar on issues related to reparations, race and policing, and bail and sentencing. He oversees LMU Loyola Law School’s Reparations Project, which supports community and legislative initiatives. He represents the descendants of the Tulsa-Greenwood Race Massacre. He can comment on the reparations efforts underway across the country and particularly in California, as well as racial disparities in policing.
Media: Associated Press, USA Today, Public Radio Tulsa, Cal Matters, Tulsa World
Kimberly West-Faulcon, James P. Bradley Chair in Constitutional Law
A former leader of the Los Angeles office of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, she is a nationally recognized expert on race as it intersects with college admissions and testing. She is also an expert on employment discrimination law. She is also a noted Supreme Court follower who has paid close attention to recent nomination processes. She can comment on constitutional and other issues arising out of cases involving race as it relates to college admissions, testing, employment and more.
Media: Los Angeles Times, Chronicle of Higher Education, San Francisco Chronicle, Fox-11
