Professional Summary
Kierra N. Toney is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Cincinnati. She is originally from Chattanooga, TN the eldest of her living siblings and a first-generation college student. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 2017 and her Master of Arts from University of Cincinnati in 2022, both in Sociology. Her master’s thesis is a qualitative exploration of Black student’s sense-making of high school American History Curricula. Her research interests include: Race and Racism, Urban Communities, Education, and Black Epistemologies. She previously served as a research assistant for the Ohio Policy Evaluation Network and an assistant editor for the academic journal Social Problems. She is currently a Taft Dissertation fellow. Kierra identifies as a scholar-activist and hopes to use her research as tool to aid in equity and liberation for marginalized groups.
You can learn more about Kierra by visiting her website, KierraNToney.com .
Education
Bachelor of Arts: University of Tennessee, Knoxville Knoxville, TN, 2017 (Sociology )
Master of Arts: University of Cincinnati Cincinnati, OH, 2022 (Sociology)
Positions and Work Experience
01-2019 -08-2021 Research Assistant for The Ohio Policy Evaluation Network, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH
08-2021 -To Present Assistant Editor, Social Problems, University of Cincinnati
Publications
Peer Reviewed Publications
Kierra Toney (2019. ) “Ghosts in the Schoolyard: Racism and School Closings on Chicago’s Southside, by Eve L. Ewing" .Issues in Race and Society, , 8 ,275
Presentations
Colloquium
Earl Wright II, Keri Eason, Anthony J. Stone Jr. and Kierra Toney (01-2021). “Sociology of Hip Hop: How it Started. How it’s Going” . UC Department of Sociology Colloquium Series, Cincinnati, OH. UC.
Kierra Toney (02-2021). “Black College Freshmen’s Sensemaking of High School American History Curricula.” . UC Department of Sociology Colloquium Series. , Virtual. UC.
Paper Presentations
Kierra Toney (03-30-2019. ) "Whose Story Is It?" .North Central Sociological Association. Conference. Level:Regional
Kierra Toney (08-2019. ) “Black Children Are Our Future But Do They Know Our Past?: A Critical Race Analysis of Ohio’s Public High School American History Curriculum” .New York, New York. Conference.
Kierra Toney (08-2021. ) “Black College Freshmen’s Sensemaking of High School American History Curricula” .Online. Conference.
Kierra Toney (04-2022. ) “A Sense of Pride… A Sense of Pity” .Birmingham, AL. Conference.
Kierra Toney (03-2022. ) “It Just Feels Like We’re Constantly Fighting for Something”: Black Students' Sensemaking of American History Curricula .Hybrid-Virtual Presentation. Conference.
Honors and Awards
05-2022 -08-2022 Taft Graduate Summer Fellowship Taft Research Center Type:Fellowship