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PROFILE   |   Britany Gatewood

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Britany Gatewood Research Associate

Dr. Britany Gatewood serves as a Research Associate for the National Association of System Heads (NASH). Dr. Gatewood’s research interests include social inequality, criminology, social movements, and scholarly activism. Her research focuses on social movements within carceral institutions and the political practices of Black women and their children.

“How will you use your knowledge to help your community?” has been a constant thread in Dr. Gatewood’s professional experience. She has over 15 years of experience working with vulnerable populations, from at-risk youth to those returning home from incarceration. Her current work has revolved around higher education in prison. She currently serves as the Program Coordinator and Professor for Bowie State University’s Prison Education Program, and as the Site Coordinator and Instructor for the Neighborhood Access Program.

In 2022, Dr. Gatewood began her non-profit, The Liberation and Justice Project Foundation, Inc., whose mission is to create educational materials, events, and research that promote liberation from social and structural inequality and justice for oppressed communities. Her work with her non-profit continues the thread of scholar activism that has informed her work.

Select manuscripts and publications include: “Breaking Generational Curses: Resilience and Opportunity Among Black Children of Incarcerated Parents” (2023), “The Value of Incarcerated Black Lives during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Exploration of Healthcare Disparities of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Populations” (2023), “Georgia’s Forgotten Women: How Georgia’s Criminal Legal System Harms Women and Girls” (2021), “Children of Incarcerated Parents: Pathways to Resilience and Success” (2020), and “Silence around Prisoner Protests: Criminology, Black Women and State-Sanctioned Violence” (2019). Dr. Gatewood is the lead editor for the book, Social Revolution: Black Children of Incarcerated Parents Speak Truth to Power, which was released by Routledge in fall 2023.

Dr. Gatewood attended the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and received her BA in Sociology. She obtained her MA in Liberal Arts at the University of Detroit Mercy. Dr. Gatewood earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from the Department of Sociology and Criminology at Howard University and received a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies.