She earned her doctorate in sociology at Rutgers University, where she also received her master’s degree; and she holds a BA in sociology from Hunter College. Shatima is interested in the intersection of race, space, gender, and culture. Her dissertation, “Performing Race and Shaping Community in the Black Barbershop” focuses on how black people interpret and perform their racial identity, the processes by which they create community based on these understandings, and the significance of place and space in shaping these sentiments. The bulk of Shatima’s research employs ethnographic methods to uncover what black people think constitutes an “authentic” racial identity, how they signal this to others in everyday interaction, and how racially exclusive places shape understandings and performances of race.