She earned her B.A. in English from Rice University, where she was a Mellon Mays Fellow, and her Ph.D. in American Literature from Johns Hopkins University. She specializes in 20th century African American Literature and Culture, and has taught such courses as Intro to the Harlem Renaissance; Reading Rap; Rewriting Slavery; Anger, Voice and Violence in Black Women's Stories; and Writing the City. Her current research explores the interplay of violence and domesticity in constructions of black masculinity from the middle to late 20th century. She is a former MMUF fellow at the Rice University.