Dr. April Baker-Bell is a transdisciplinary teacher-researcher-activist and Associate Professor of Language, Literacy, and English Education in the Department of English and the Department of African American and African Studies at Michigan State University. Her research interrogates the intersections of Black language and literacies, anti-Black racism, and antiracist pedagogies, and is concerned with antiracist writing, critical media literacies, Black feminist-womanist storytelling, and self-preservation for Black women in academia, with an emphasis on early career Black women.
April’s research has been widely published, and she is the author of the award-winning book, Linguistic Justice: Black Language, Literacy, Identity, and Pedagogy. Her numerous awards and fellowships include the 2020 NCTE George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language, the 2020 Michigan State University's Distinguished Partnership Award for Community-Engaged Creative Activity, the 2019 Michigan State University Alumni Award for Innovation & Leadership in Teaching and Learning, and the 2018 AERA Language and Social Processes Early Career Scholar Award. April holds a BS in Secondary English Education and an MA in Written Communication from Eastern Michigan University, and a PhD in Rhetoric & Writing from Michigan State University.