Open Mic Night (PDF)

Toby S. Jenkins is an Assistant Professor of Curriculum Studies at the University of South Carolina. Prior to USC, she served as a faculty member at Georgia Southern University, the University of Hawaii Manoa, and George Mason University. Her professional background includes ten years of experience as a student affairs administrator at Penn State University and the University of Maryland. Her first book, My Culture, My Color, My Self: Heritage, Community, & Resilience in the Lives of Young Adults was named to the American Association of Publisher's List of the Top 100 Books for Understanding Race in America. Her research interests focus on how communities of color use culture as a politic of social survival, a tool of social change, and a medium for transformative education. She is also interested in the ways in which culture influences students' perceptions of the purpose of education and their commitment to community based leadership. Crystal Leigh Endsley is Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. Her first book, The Fifth Element: Social Justice Pedagogy Through Spoken Word Poetry explores spoken word poetry as a tool for social justice, critical feminist pedagogy, and new ways of teaching and learning. Crystal Leigh is an internationally renowned spoken word artist. Recognized by Cosmopolitan Magazine as a "Fun, Fearless Female," Crystal Leigh is both performer and professor, and works to serve her community as an artist, activist, and academic. Her most recent scholarship-activism focuses on how spoken word poetry and performance can connect girls, impact their communities, and inform government policy. Crystal Leigh directed the creative performance of spoken word at the United Nations for International Day of the Girl in October 2016. Marla L. Jaksch is an Associate Professor of Women's and Gender Studies and Coordinator of Competitive Post-Graduate Fellowships. She attended