In 2021, Pedagogue and DBLAC (Digital Black Lit and Composition) collaborated on a miniseries that amplifies the pedagogies, practices, writings, and lived-experiences of Black-identified graduate students. Each episode is a conversation designed to uplift and celebrate Black teachers-scholars-students-activists. 

​The miniseries features KáLyn Banks Coghill (Virginia Commonwealth University); Charlesia McKinney (University of Kansas); James Eubanks (University of Alabama); Ariana Brazier (University of Pittsburgh); Benesemon Simmons (Syracuse University); Melanie Davis-Sanchez (Texas A&M University-Commerce); Veronica Joyner (George Mason University); Christopher Peace (University of Kansas); Nkenna Onwuzuruoha (University of Utah); Kenneth L. Johnson, II (Florida State University).

KáLyn Banks Coghill (she/her/Beyoncé) is a current first-year Ph.D. student in the Media, Art, and Text program at Virginia Commonwealth University. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English (creative writing poetry and linguistics) from Old Dominion University and her Master’s degree in Organizational Communications from Bowie State University. Her interests include digital media, Black Twitter, digital violence on social media, gender-based violence online, digital wake work, and Hip Hop feminism in digital spaces. You can find her latest publication "A Seat At The Table: A Repetitive Narrative of Abuse" through the International Linguistics and Communications Journal. She coins her work as “Hoodrat Scholarship” which is a self-proclaimed effort to create an eco-system of work that can be cycled from the academy to the streets. She uses her digital presence and works to create spaces where anyone can engage and contribute. Her favorite poem is “won’t you celebrate with me” by Lucille Clifton because she shouldn't still be here but, she is.

Charlesia McKinney is a first-generation PhD candidate at the University of Kansas in rhetoric and composition, with a focus on women, gender, and sexuality studies. She is a dissertation fellow at Middle Tennessee State University for 2021-2022. Her dissertation project is a qualitative study that investigates Black women's relationships to pleasure through the lens of literacy. Her other work can be found in Composition Forum and the Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education & Student Affairs.

James Eubanks is a PhD student with a concentration in Composition, Rhetoric and English Studies in the Department of English at the University of Alabama. His research interests include African-American Rhetoric, particularly in the church as well as within the context of digital and social media, writing program administration, digital humanities, and composition pedagogy.

Dr. Ariana Brazier received her degree in Critical & Cultural Studies from the University of Pittsburgh. She is the Vice President of Products & Storytelling at Daymaker which helps employees connect with their community, their team, and themselves through giving and service. Ari is also the CEO and President of the 501c3 nonprofit ATL Parent Like A Boss, Inc. (Parent LAB) whose mission is to enhance generational literacies through play in underserved African American communities.

Benesemon Simmons is a doctoral candidate in Composition and Cultural Rhetoric at Syracuse University. She teaches introductory composition courses and works as a writing consultant. Drawing on Critical Race Theory and Black Feminist Pedagogy, her dissertation project examines Black women’s experiences as students, teachers, and scholars, in the context of the graduate classroom.

Known for her selective word choice even in casual conversation, Melanie is a dedicated Educator with over 17 years of experience. Melanie holds a Bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University-Shreveport, Master’s degree from Centenary College of Louisiana and will complete her M.S. in English at Texas A&M University-Commerce Summer 2021. Melanie resides in Texas with her husband, sons, and pets, Bella, Jordan, and Dexter Morgan.

Veronica Joyner is lecturer at Howard University and a PhD Candidate in Writing and Rhetoric at George Mason University with a focus on the Rhetoric of Health and Medicine. Her research centers on the rhetoric of Black women’s bodies, health, and care. Veronica studies and writes about accessibility in technical communication and the socio-historical implications of racism on the rhetoric of health and medicine.

Christopher Peace is a 4th year rhetoric and composition Ph.D. candidate in the department of English at the University of Kansas, where he teaches composition and professional communication. His current research interests include African American spiritualities, Zora Neale Hurston, spatial rhetorics, and rhetorical ecologies. His current dissertation project explores African American religious performances, rhizome theory, and Hoodoo identity.

Nkenna Onwuzuruoha is a Ph.D. candidate in Writing & Rhetoric Studies at the University of Utah. She has taught composition and social justice courses at the University of Utah, Salt Lake Community College (SLCC), and Westminster College. She moved to Salt Lake in 2011 to serve as an AmeriCorps Vista for the SLCC Community Writing Center and currently works as the Outreach Coordinator for Write Here, Westminster College’s community writing center.

Kenneth L. Johnson, II is a Visiting Instructor in the Department of English and Modern Languages at Florida A&M University (FAMU). He is also a Ph.D. candidate in English at Florida State University. His research interests include 20th and 21st Century African American narrative, Black masculinity studies, and Hip-Hop studies. His dissertation project focuses on the works of Kiese Laymon and his use of multiple literacies and his narration of Black southern boyhood.

No. 1
KáLyn Banks Coghill

In this episode, KáLyn Banks Coghill talks about her origin story and teaching practices, being mentored by Black women, Hoodrat Scholarship, digital violence against Black women, and how the academy can support Black teachers, scholars, and students.

No. 2
Charlesia McKinney

In this episode, Charlesia McKinney talks about Black feminist theories, the politics of pleasure, Black women literacies, fat studies, embodiment, and how the academy can support Black teachers, scholars, and students.

No. 3
James Eubanks

In this episode, James Eubanks talks about the racial, gendered, and geographic realities around being a graduate student in the deep South, writing program administration, misinformation, and how the academy can support Black teachers, scholars, and students.  

No. 4
Ariana Brazier

In this episode, Ariana Brazier talks about Black joy, children and play-based learning and literacies, community-based work, and how the academy can support Black teachers, scholars, and students. 

No. 5
Benesemon Simmons

In this episode, Benesemon Simmons talks about her research on Black women’s experiences in grad classes, assessment biases, organizing and community activist work, and how the academy can support Black teachers, scholars, and students.

No. 6
Melanie Davis-Sanchez

In this episode, Melanie Davis-Sanchez talks about literacy and culture, Afrofuturism, hip-hop, Blackness, and how the academy can support Black teachers, scholars, and students. 

No. 7
Veronica Joyner

In this episode, Veronica Joyner talks about being a grad student and mother, Black maternal health, technical writing, teaching at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), and how the academy can support Black teachers, scholars, and students. 

No. 8
Christopher Peace

In this episode, Christopher Peace talks about African American religious practices, rhizome theory, Hoodoo identity, The Project on the History of Black Writing, and how the academy can support Black teachers, scholars, and students. 

No. 9
Nkenna Onwuzuruoha

In this episode, Nkenna Onwuzuruoha talks about her motivations for pursuing a PhD, teaching at Salt Lake Community College and the University of Utah, her research on San Francisco State University’s student newspaper in the 1960s, and how the academy can support Black teachers, scholars, and students. 

No. 10
Kenneth L. Johnson, II

In this episode, Kenneth L. Johnson, II talks about incorporating hip-hop in writing classrooms, Black masculinity and memoirs, teaching at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU), and how the academy can support Black teachers, scholars, and students.