Biography

Daniella Cook Sumpter is Associate Professor in the Department of Teacher Education and affiliate faculty in the Department of African American Studies at the University of South Carolina. She received her doctoral degree from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her scholarship broadly explores Black education, critical race theory and methodologies, anti-racist pedagogies. She is guided by an understanding that dismantling inequitable systemic structures requires working with, and in, communities traditionally marginalized by schooling to support their vision for education. Daniella’s early research on Black educators in New Orleans post-Katrina laid the foundation for her ongoing work solidifying her belief in the power of Black and other minoritized communities to understand, interpret, and shape the world around them. Her research has been published in the Qualitative Inquiry, The High School Journal, the International Journal of Qualitative Studies, Southern Anthropologist, and edited volumes such as The Handbook of Critical Race Theory in Education. Daniella is Vice President of the American Educational Studies Association and  Past President of the Critical Race Studies in  Education Association.

Educational Background

Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Masters of Arts in Education, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Bachelor of Arts in History; Bachelor of Science in Education, Miami University

Teaching areas/areas of expertise

Critical Multicultural Education, Black Education, Critical Race Theory, Culturally Competent/Relevant Pedagogy, Community Engagement and Urban Education, Qualitative Methodology

Research

Daniella Sumpter's interdisciplinary research concentrates on understanding how class, race and power affect the everyday schooling lives of students, teachers and communities traditionally under-served by public education across diverse contexts.

Teaching

Teaching areas/areas of expertise: Critical Multicultural Education, Black Education, Critical Race Theory, Culturally Competent/Relevant Pedagogy, Community Engagement and Urban Education, Qualitative Methodology

Selected Publications

Cook, D.A.& Bryan, N. (Editors). (2024). Critical Race Theory and Classroom Practice. Routledge.

Cook, D.A. & Bryan, M.L. (2023). Speak Truth! The Role of Dialogue in the Production of Black Women’s Scholarship. Qualitative Inquiry. https://doi.org/10.1177/14687941231206739

Cook, D.A. & Gause, S.A.F. (Editors) (Spring 2024). Teaching Critical Race Theory: Experiences from the Frontlines [pdf]. Professing Education. 22(1).

Cook, D.A. (Guest Editor) (Spring 2024). Teaching The Long Arc of the Civil Rights Movement.[pdf] Teaching with Primary Sources Consortium Journal. Library of Congress.

Cook, D.A., Eargle, J., & Turner, V. (2024). When the Young Lead: The Legacy of Black Youth Civic Engagement in the Struggle for Civil Rights. In Waring, S. M. (Ed.). Teaching with primary sources for Cultural Understanding, Civic Mindedness, and Democracy. Teachers College Press.

Cook, D.A. & Generett, G. (2019). On the Process of Becoming: Black Women Academics Othermothering from the Margins. In Jeffries, R. Queen Mothers: Articulating the Spirit of Black Women Teacher-Leaders.  Information Age Publishing.

Cook, D. A. (2018). In the Spirit of Ella: Race, Community & Education Reform in New Orleans Post Katrina. The High School Journal, 101(2), 90-99. doi:10.1353/hsj.2018.0002

Cook, D.A. (2015) Shifting the Center in Teacher Education: An Introduction to the Special Issue on Critical Race Theory and Teacher Education. The Urban Review. 47 (2), 233-236.  

Cook, D.A. & Williams, T. (2015) Expanding Intersectionality: Fictive Kinship Networks as Supports for the Educational Aspirations of Black Women. The Western Journal of Black Studies. 39 (2), 157-166.

Cook, D.A. (2013). Blurring the Boundaries: The Mechanics of Creating Composite Characters. In Marvin Lynn & Adrienne D. Dixson (Eds.) Handbook of Critical Race Theory in Education. New York, NY: Routledge.

Cook, D.A. & Dixson, A. (2013). Expanding Critical Race Theory and Method: A Composite Counter Story on School Reform and the Experiences of Black Teachers in New Orleans Post Katrina. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. 26 (10), 1238-1258. https://doi.org/10.1080/09518398.2012.731531

Cook, D.A. (2010) Disrupted But Not Destroyed: Fictive Kinship Networks among Black Educators in Post Katrina New Orleans. Southern Anthropologist. 35 (2), 1 – 25.

Selected Scholarship

Cook, D.A. (2019, October 14). Community and Education Reform in New Orleans Post Katrina Podcast title [Leading Equity Audio podcast]

Cook, D.A.  (Winter 2017/2018). In the Spirit of Ella: Race, Community & Education Reform in New Orleans Post Katrina. High School Journal.

Cook, D.A. & Williams, T. (2015) Expanding Intersectionality: Fictive Kinship Networks as Supports for the Educational Aspirations of Black Women. The Western Journal of Black Studies. 39 (2), 157-166.

Cook, D.A. (2015) Shifting the Center in Teacher Education: An Introduction to the Special Issue on Critical Race Theory and Teacher Education. The Urban Review. 47 (2), 233-236.  

Cook, D.A. (2013) An Engaged Dialogue: Reflections on Preparing African American Teachers for Diverse Classrooms. Multicultural Perspectives. 15 (1), 46 – 51.

Cook, D.A. (2013). Blurring the Boundaries: The Mechanics of Creating Composite Characters. In Marvin Lynn & Adrienne D. Dixson (Eds.) Handbook of Critical Race Theory in Education. New York, NY: Routledge.

Cook, D.A. & Dixson, A. (2013). Expanding Critical Race Theory and Method: A Composite Counter Story on School Reform and the Experiences of Black Teachers in New Orleans Post Katrina. International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education. 26 (10), 1238-1258.

Cook, D.A. (2010) Disrupted But Not Destroyed: Fictive Kinship Networks among Black Educators in Post Katrina New Orleans. Southern Anthropologist. 35 (2), 1 – 25.

Selected Presentations

What about Me?: Exploring the Multidimensionality of Black Teachers (November 2013). Paper presentation at the American Educational and Developmental Science Association (AESA) Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD.

Middle Class is not enough: Middle Class Black Parents Organizing for Educational Opportunity (June 2013). Individual paper presentation at the Centre For Education For Racial Equality In Scotland (CERES).

Cook, D.A. & Caves, K.M. Towards a Critical Race Implicit Theory: A Conceptualisation of the Impact of Structure on Individual Attitudes about Learning (June 2013). Individual paper presentation at the Centre For Education For Racial Equality In Scotland (CERES).

Psychological Musings: Towards a Critical Implicit Theory of Motivation & Achievement (May 2012). Individual paper presentation at the Critical Race Studies in Education Association (CRSEA), New York City, NY.

Trying to Talk to the Powers That Be: The Experiences of Black Educators with School Reform in Post-Katrina New Orleans (January 2011). Individual Paper presentation at International Conference on Narrative, Arts-based, and Post Approaches to Social Research (NAPAR) Conference, Phoenix, AZ.

Cooperation, Collaboration and Solidarity: Black Educator Fictive Kinship Networks in Post Katrina New Orleans. (September 2010) Individual paper presentation at Five Years of Post-Katrina Educational Reform Research Conference, New Orleans, LA.

Honors

Selected Participant, Division K New Faculty Seminar, Annual Conference for the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL (April 27 – May 1, 2013)

Selected Participant, Committee on Scholars of Color Annual Mentoring Dinner, Annual Conference for the American Educational Research Association, Chicago, IL (April 27 – May 1, 2013)

Awards

Recipient, 2011, Daniel G. Solórzano Travel Award for Critical Race Research on the Intersections of Race, Ethnicity, Class and Gender in Education, Critical Race Studies in Education Association