Lakeya Afolalu

Lakeya Afolalu is an Assistant Professor of Language, Literacy, and Culture. She specializes in the intersections of migration, language, literacy, race, and identity. Raised between her Nigerian and African American cultures, she embodies a hybrid identity reflected in her research focused on the languages, literacies, and identities of African immigrant and transnational youth.  

Her current research explores how African immigrant and transnational youth form and negotiate their identities through their multilingual and literacy practices, including digital literacies, across home, school, and digital spaces. She particularly examines how racialization, gender, and colonial histories intersect and influence their identities and practices. Overarchingly, her scholarship emphasizes the diverse ethnoracial identities, languages, and literacies of Black youth while advancing theories of identity and transnationalism to promote sociopolitical change for all youth. 

Lakeya's academic scholarship has appeared in journals such as Teachers College Record, the Journal of Literacy Research, and Research in the Teaching of English. It has also been supported by the National Council of Teachers of English and the American Educational Research Association. Her public scholarship has been featured in various publications, including TEDx, ESSENCE Magazine, and NPR Radio. A former literacy teacher, she actively continues to actively champion youth identities and well-being through community-engaged literacy and arts education partnerships.