Dr. Kimberly R. Moffitt (Howard University) is Interim Dean of the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, Professor in the Language, Literacy and Culture Ph.D. program, and Affiliate Professor in the Department of Africana Studies at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC). Her teaching interests include culture, media studies/criticism, Black hair and body politics, Disney representations, sports and media, and popular culture. She is the immediate past president of the University Faculty Senate.
Dr. Moffitt’s research focuses on mediated representations of marginalized groups as well as the politicized nature of Black hair and the body. She has published five co-edited volumes, including Blackberries and Redbones: Critical Articulations of Black Hair and Body Politics in Africana Communities (Hampton Press, 2010), Gladiators in Suits: Race, Gender, and the Politics of Representation in Scandal (2019), The Obama Effect: Multidisciplinary Renderings of the 2008 Campaign (SUNY Press, 2010), Michelle Obama and The FLOTUS Effect: Platform, Presence, and Agency (2019), and The 1980s: A Transitional Decade? (Lexington Books, 2011). She has also published her work in academic journals and several edited volumes. Her current research projects continue to explore the black body such as her work exploring white femininity in Disney’s The Princess and the Frog and the representations of Black children on Disney television programming. She is also continuing her work on Black hair/body politics in a few focus group projects on colorism, including her co-collaborative project #blackhairsyllabus (www.blackhairsyllabus.com). Dr. Moffitt extends her research interests into the community by offering workshops on Black hair and body politics as it relates to bullying among middle school girls, as well as organizational training on inclusive excellence for non-profit organizations.
Dr. Moffitt often writes op-ed articles for the Baltimore Sun and is a frequent guest on local public radio programs/podcasts. She is a member of the public service sorority, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and the founding parent of Baltimore Collegiate School for Boys Public Charter School, a 4th-8th grade liberal arts, college preparatory school. She is married with two teenagers and a Shih Ttzu.
Dr. Moffitt is currently serving her first term as secretary of NAMLE’s Board of Directors.
Twitter: @MediaTzarina