Maliq is a native of the South Bronx in New York City, where his interest in understanding social inequality developed naturally as a result of the race and class disparities he saw around him in the poorest community in America. He is an alum of the City University of New York’s Herbert H. Lehman College, earned his doctorate at THE Ohio State University (properly pronounced only with such emphasis on THE), and is now an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Cincinnati. His work examines race and class inequality in educational and occupational outcomes, as well as broader theoretical questions about how social stratification processes operate in society.