Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change Academic Research Fellow Dr. SunAh Laybourn hosts the Let’s Grab Coffee Podcast. Recently she had fellow Hooks Academic Research Fellow Dr. Earle J. Fisher on the show to discuss Critical Race Theory. According to the show notes, Dr. Fisher “shed light on the origins of Critical Race Theory before breaking down the more recent controversies. He also discusses how Critical Race Theory has been taken up, or not, in various Christian denominations.”

Dr. SunAh M. Laybourn is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Memphis and an Affiliate Faculty Member for the Center for Workplace Diversity & Inclusion. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Maryland (2018). Her research examines racialization processes and cross-racial interaction.

Earle J. Fisher completed his Ph.D. in Communication at the University of Memphis and currently serves as the Senior Pastor of Abyssinian Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. As a scholar that studies rhetoric and religion and Black Liberation movements, Dr. Fisher teaches religion and humanities at several colleges and universities. As a community organizer, Dr. Fisher co-organized the Memphis Grassroots Organization Coalition in August of 2015 in response to the brutal death of Darrius Stewart as well as spearheading initiatives in criminal justice reform, media accountability, the removal of confederate monuments, and voter empowerment.

Listen to the podcast here.