Sakeena Everett

Assistant Professor, Race and Social Justice

Expertise: Grief, Consequential Literacies, Justice as Praxis in Education, Urban Education, Teacher Education, Humanizing Professional Learning Communities, Humanizing Pedagogies and Research, Decolonizing Methodologies

---

Education/Degree:
Ph.D. Curriculum, Instruction, and Teacher Education (Michigan State University)

About

Sakeena Everett, Ph.D. is an award-winning academic researcher, former K-12 English Language Arts (ELA), assistant professor, author, speaker, and certified grief educator. Dr. Everett is a native New Yorker (Brooklyn) and avid literacy advocate. Her research investigates the intersectionality of grief, race, gender, and socioeconomic class, especially among Black women in academia and K-12 educators. Through her active mixed-methods Spencer Foundation-funded Racial Equity Research Grant, Dr. Everett developed an “intersectional grief literacies framework” (Everett, 2023), which is committed to the intersectional intellectual projects of: (1) increasing the visibility of and inclusion of Black women’s bereavement and grief experiences and (2) (re)shaping Black women’s relationships with and access to grief resources and research. Through this project, Dr. Everett also develops and implements culturally responsive grief tools and resources. Her research is nationally recognized by the American Educational Research Association (AERA); National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE); and the Spencer Foundation. Her teaching prioritizes humanizing, decolonizing, grief-attuned, trauma-informed, and culturally sustaining pedagogies, racial equity, social justice, literacy education, and teacher preparation.

Dr. Everett also loves music, jigsaw puzzles, writing, reading, laughing, art, food, and stationary supplies like colorful notebooks, pretty pens, bright highlighters, unique stickers, and fancy paper planners.