I study belonging. In all of my research, I aim to understand how we create an "us" and a "them." I try to understand how we structure our world to benefit the "us" and penalize the "them"— how we ensure the well-being of those who belong and alienate those who do not. Finally, I am very interested in how the "them" make do and deal with the consequences not belonging.

To say the same thing in sociology jargon, I use qualitative methods to examine how marginalized populations in urban locales make sense of inequalities in their everyday lives. I investigate how they interpret their social selves and order their relationships; how they create, maintain, and transform social and symbolic boundaries; and how boundaries constrain and enable their lives.

A small bit about myself: 

I am a Ghanaian-American. I was raised in a small village in the Central Region of Ghana (Gomoa Jukwa). In the U.S., I have lived in IL, NY, WI, OH, and MS. I received my bachelor's degree at Ithaca College and my Masters and Doctorate degree at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. 

I am the Vann Associate Professor of Racial Justice and, with my family, live in Charlotte, NC.