Krystal Strong

Associate Professor of Black Studies in Education
Educational Theory Policy & Administration

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Dr. Krystal Strong is Associate Professor of Black Studies in Education in the Education, Culture, and Society program. A scholar-activist and anthropologist by training, her research and teaching use ethnographic, participatory, multimodal, and archival methods to investigate youth and community activism, global Black social movements, and the role of education as a site of struggle in Africa and the African Diaspora. Dr. Strong is the recipient of multiple awards and fellowships, including a 2023 AERA Critical Educators for Social Justice Scholar Activist Award, 2022 NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2022 CIES African Diaspora Emerging Scholar Award, and a 2017 Council on Anthropology and Education Presidential Early Career Fellowship. A longtime community organizer, Dr. Strong brings commitments to racial justice and the lessons of grassroots activism to her scholarship and pedagogy.

Dr. Strong’s current book project based on long-term research in Nigeria, 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳: 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘪-𝘙𝘢𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘪𝘯 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘢 𝘈𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺, is an ethnography of post-military university student politics and the trappings of leadership after Nigeria’s transition to democracy. Other active research projects investigate youth protest and leadership in Africa, political education across global Black social movements, and collaboratively documents community-led organizing work around educational justice, state violence, and Black communities in Nigeria and Philadelphia, her hometown. With the support of a 2024 Spencer Foundation Vision Grant, the Towards Just Histories project collaborates with activists, educators, and researchers across the nation to re-envision the teaching and learning of history through community-led efforts to reclaim and repair contested local histories.

Previous research has been published in 𝘜𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘯 𝘌𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘌𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸, 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴, 𝘍𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺, 𝘛𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺, 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴, and 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴, among others. Her co-edited volume, 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱, 𝘌𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘌𝘳𝘢 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦, was published in the Routledge Critical Global Citizenship Education series. This research has been generously supported by grants and fellowships from the Spencer Foundation, Fulbright Program, Mellon Foundation, and Ford Foundation.

Education:
• Ph.D. in Anthropology, University of California, Berkeley
• B.A. in Individualized Study, Gallatin School, New York University

Affiliations:
• African Studies Association (ASA)
• American Anthropological Association (AAA)
• American Educational Research Association (AERA)
• Association for the Study of the Worldwide African Diaspora (ASWAD)
• Comparative and International Education Society (CIES)
• Lagos Studies Association (LSA)

Expertise & Research Interest
• Student and community activism

• Youth leadership and cultural practices

• Africa and the African diaspora

• Global Black social movements

• Anthropology of education and political anthropology

• Social media and popular culture

• Ethnographic, participatory, and multimodal research methods
Recent and Select Publications

Krystal Strong. 2024. Out of the classroom and into the streets: What movements teach us about learning and struggling toward justice. 𝘌𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘈𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦, 4(2024): 1-11. https://nysfeajournal.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/jrn-v.-4-8-30-24.pdf

Krystal Strong and Jimil Ataman. 2023. Locus of struggle: The African campus and contemporary protest forms. 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘊𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴, 35(1): 53-72. https://doi.org/10.1080/13696815.2022.2158788.

Krystal Strong, Sharon Walker, Derron Wallace, Arathi Sriprakash, Leon Tikly, and Crain Soudien. 2023. “Learning from the Movement for Black Lives: Horizons of Racial Justice for Comparative and International Education.” 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘌𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸, 67(S1): S1-S24. https://doi.org/10.1086/722487.

R. Nanre Nafziger and Krystal Strong. 2023. To end SARS or start a revolution? Class contradictions and radical formations of youth within the #EndSARS rebellion.𝘐𝘣𝘢𝘥𝘢𝘯 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴, 32(2022): 74-101. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ibjhs/article/view/251109.

R. Nanre Nafziger, Krystal Strong, and Becky Tarlau. 2023. “We bring in each other’s wisdom”: Liberatory praxis and political education for Black lives in Philadelphia. 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 21(5): 609-627. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767724.2023.2199354.

Christopher Rogers, Ben Mendelson, and Krystal Strong. 2023. Organizing pedagogies: Transgressing campus-movement boundaries through radical study and action. 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘓𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘤𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘴, 32(1): 143-169. https://doi.org/10.1080/10508406.2023.2165082.

Krystal Strong and Jasmine Blanks Jones. 2022. Come correct: itineraries of discovery in Black women’s ethnographic practice. 𝘍𝘦𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺, 4(1): 54-61. https://doi.org/10.1002/fea2.12102.

Krystal Strong and Christiana Kallon Kelly. 2022. Youth leadership for development: Contradictions of Africa’s growing leadership pipeline. 𝘑𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘰𝘧 𝘔𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘯 𝘈𝘧𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘴, 60(2): 217-238. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022278X22000064.

Krystal Strong. 2022. The transnational youth empowerment paradox: African youth leadership and movement capture. 𝘕𝘌𝘖𝘚, 14(1): 30-35. https://acyig.americananthro.org/neosvol14iss1sp22/strong/.

Krystal Strong, Rehana Odendaal, and Christiana Kallon Kelly. 2022. Education for subordination: Youth and the afterlives of coloniality and racialization in Africa. In J. Scott & M. Bajaj (Eds.). 2023 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘠𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘣𝘰𝘰𝘬: 𝘙𝘢𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘌𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘐𝘯𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦. Routledge, 103-118. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003241393.

Krystal Strong, R. Nanre Nafziger, Juwon Sanyaolu, and Baba Aye. 2022. From #EndSARS to Pan-African solidarity: Building an intergenerational and transnational movement against state violence. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘦: 𝘖𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘨𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦. https://forgeorganizing.org/article/endsars-pan-african-solidarity.

Patricia Kubow, Nicole Webster, Krystal Strong, and Daniel Miranda (Eds). 2022. 𝘊𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘊𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘻𝘦𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱: 𝘌𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘋𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘤𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘺 𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘌𝘳𝘢 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦. Routledge Press Critical Global Citizenship Education Series. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003197881.

Krystal Strong. 2021. A requiem for Delisha and Tree Africa. 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘺 𝘕𝘦𝘸𝘴, 62(5) Sept/ Oct: 14-18. https://www.anthropology-news.org/articles/a-requiem-for-delisha-and-tree-africa/.

Krystal Strong and R. Nanre Nafziger. 2021. Education for Black liberation: Freire and past/present Pan-African experiments. 𝘊𝘶𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘐𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘌𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 23(2): 39-54. https://doi.org/10.52214/cice.v23i2.8572b.

R. Nanre Nafziger and Krystal Strong. 2020. Revolutionary vanguard no more? The student movement and the struggle for education and social justice in Nigeria. In A. Choudry and S. Vally (Eds.), 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘚𝘰𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭 𝘑𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦: 𝘚𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘈𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘭𝘰𝘣𝘦. Pluto Press, 207-225.

Krystal Strong. 2018. Do African lives matter to Black Lives Matter? On youth uprisings and the borders of solidarity. 𝘜𝘳𝘣𝘢𝘯 𝘌𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯, 53(2), 265-285. https://doi.org/10.1177/0042085917747097.

Krystal Strong. 2016. Practice for the Future: The Aspirational Politics of Nigerian Students. In A. Stambach and K. Hall (Eds.), 𝘚𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘍𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘴, 𝘈𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘱𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝘊𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘈𝘯𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘨𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘗𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘴. Palgrave Macmillan, 119-131.
Honors & Awards

2024 – Spencer Foundation Vision Grant, “Towards Just Histories: Visioning and Developing Community-Based Curriculum Collectives Around Contested Local History”

2023 – American Educational Research Association Critical Educators for Social Justice Special Interest Group Scholar-Activist Award

2022 – National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship for “Fast-Tracking Leaders: A Critical Ethnographic Study of Your Leadership Development in Africa”

2022 – Comparative and International Education Society African Diaspora Special Interest Group Ernest D. Morrell Emerging Scholar Award

2021 – Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Community-Based Archives Grant, “The MOVE Activist Archive” with The MOVE Organization and West Philadelphia Cultural Alliance

2021 – Faculty Recognition of Outstanding Service to Students Award, University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education

2018 – Spencer Foundation Small Grant for “Education and Social Change: Mapping Contemporary School Protests in Africa”

2017 – American Anthropological Association Council on Anthropology of Education Concha Delgado Gaítan Early Career Presidential Fellows Award

2013 – Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship

2014 – Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, University of California, Berkeley

2012 – National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellowship

2010 – Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Award to Nigeria

2006 – Fulbright Institute of International Education Student Award to Nigeria
Current Projects

Activism Beyond the Classroom: www.activismbeyondtheclassroom.com

A course and digital platform co-designed with students and Philadelphia activists engaging in participatory inquiry and public scholarship related to education and social justice activism.

African Youth Leadership Study: www.africanyouthleadershipstudy.com

A transnational ethnographic study of the global proliferation of African youth leadership initiatives focusing on the relationship between educational development and the formation of a new leadership class in Africa.

School Protests in Africa: www.schoolprotests.com

A digital mapping project tracking the incidence and causes of school protests in Africa since 2000, with support from a 2018 Spencer Foundation small grant to make the data publicly accessible.

Re/Member Black Philadelphia: www.rememberblackphilly.com

A multimodal storytelling and community archiving project investigating the displacement of Black communities in Philadelphia, using oral history, mapping, filmmaking, and immersive technology.

The MOVE Activist Archive: www.movearchive.com

A community archiving project to digitally preserve the organizational history and collective memory of The MOVE Organization.
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