Literacy Research Symposium 2026
February 13th, 2026 • Schaefer Engineering Building at Morgan State University
Stay tuned for updates on event registration.
It’s already that time again? MILE is excited to host the second annual Literacy Research Symposium this February. The event will feature a workshop with Dr. April Baker-Bell, presentations from MILE Innovation Seed Grant recipients, a student poster session, and more.
Welcoming our 2026 presenter, April Baker-Bell, Ph.D.
MILE is excited to welcome our 2026 presenter, April Baker-Bell, Ph.D.
Dr. Baker-Bell will present an engaging workshop on language justice in coursework. Stay tuned for information and updates.
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Dr. April Baker-Bell is an Associate Professor of Language, Culture, and Justice in Education in the Joint Program in English and Education and Educational Studies at the University of Michigan Marsal Family School of Education. A former high school English teacher and graduate of the Detroit Public Schools Community District, her research is situated at the intersections of Black Language and literacies, anti-Black racism, and antiracist /pro-Black language pedagogies.
Dr. Baker- Bell is an international leader in conversations on Black Language education, and her multi award-winning book, Linguistic Justice: Black Language, Literacy, Identity, and Pedagogy, brings together theory, research, and practice to dismantle Anti-Black Linguistic Racism (a term Baker-Bell coined) and white linguistic supremacy. The book provides ethnographic snapshots of how Black students in Detroit navigate and negotiate their linguistic and racial identities across multiple contexts, and it captures what Antiracist Black Language Pedagogy looks like in community with Black youth. Linguistic Justice features a range of multimodal examples and practices through instructional maps, charts, artwork, and stories that reflect the urgent need for antiracist language pedagogies in our current social and political climate.
Her latest research project, which was funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, involves collaborating with healthcare scholars and researchers to develop, implement and study antiracist medical curriculum interventions that support healthcare professionals with developing an antiracist praxis for confronting and reducing racial bias and anti-Black racism in medical and healthcare institutions.
Dr. Baker-Bell is the recipient of many awards and fellowships, including the 2023 Michigan Council of Teachers of English’s Charles Carpenter Fries Award, the 2021 Coalition for Community Writing Outstanding Book Award, the 2021 Andrew W. Mellon Foundation’s New Directions Fellowship, the 2021 Michigan State University’s Community Engagement Scholarship Award and the 2021 Distinguished Partnership Award for Community-Engaged Creative Activity, the 2020 NCTE George Orwell Award for Distinguished Contribution to Honesty and Clarity in Public Language, the 2020 Theory Into Practice Article of the Year Award, the 2019 Michigan State University Alumni Award for Innovation & Leadership in Teaching and Learning, the 2018 AERA Language and Social Processes Early Career Scholar Award, and many more.
Prior to joining the Marsal Family School of Education, Dr. Baker-Bell was an Associate Professor of Language, Literacy, and English Education at Michigan State University. She was affiliated with the English Education program, the Department of African American and African Studies, and the Center for Bioethics and Social Justice in the College of Human Medicine.