Stephanie Jones is invested in how spatial logics produce abjection which continues to result in forced migration for Black communities. Using housing development as a modality of the production of order, Steph interrogates how subjectivity is (re)imagined under modernity. Her work sits at the axis of human geography and sociology as she theorizes dispossession through Black Geographies to understand how antiblackness is a spatial experience.
In her upcoming book, Steph focuses on Oakland, CA—her hometown—as Black folks are experiencing asymmetrical acts of dispossession and displacement. Her intent is to develop frameworks for forced migration. Her work draws on the writings of Sylvia Wynter, Cedric Robinson and James Baldwin. She uses all three to develop theories in the pursuit of liberation and anticolonial praxis.
As both a scholar and community organizer, Steph’s research is at the forefront of understanding how Black geographies shape the perceptions of space among scholars and advocates alike. As a teacher and mentor, she champions liberatory educational practices rooted in critical pedagogy. An award-winning educator, Steph cultivates critical dialogue in her classrooms, encouraging dynamic discussions that empower students. She recognizes that every moment in the classroom presents an opportunity for students to interrogate the intricate relationships between race, class, sexuality, gender and violence within the broader societal landscape.