Hampshire College Alum Tashal Brown 03F Awarded National Academy of Education Fellowship
Tashal Brown 03F has received a $70,000 National Academy of Education (NAEd) Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship to create and implement a curriculum rooted in historically informed literacy and a deep engagement with Black narratives.
Brown, an assistant professor of urban education and secondary social studies at the University of Rhode Island, is one of 25 fellowship recipients chosen from over 240 applicants.
The NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship supports scholars whose work addresses key educational issues, and the grant will fund Brown’s research project, “Disrupting Anti-Black Logics in Education: Cultivating Critical Perspectives and Expansive Representations of Black Histories and Cultures in School Curriculum.” Brown’s research focuses on anti-Black curricula in U.S. education and seeks to promote comprehensive representations of Black experiences, particularly in middle and high schools. In her work, she collaborates with Black educators to develop strategies that honor Black students’ identities and experiences, creating educational spaces that affirm Black histories.
“Drawing from critical race theory and employing intersectional methodologies, the research aims to disrupt prevailing narratives and elevate the voices and experiences of Black students and other youth of color,” Brown told University of Rhode Island’s Rhody Today. “These frameworks are designed to authentically engage with students’ backgrounds, identities, and literacy practices, fostering a more inclusive understanding of Blackness.”