Natasha R. Howard, PhD
Natasha R. Howard, PhD, is an Assistant Professor of Communication Studies at Morehouse College. Her areas of specialization include Black women and motherhood, and representations of the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, and respectability in the media and popular culture – with a particular focus on Black women. Natasha was a 2021 Urban Leaders Fellow and prior to that was a 2019-2020 Mellon/American Council of Learned Societies Community College Faculty Fellow. She is also a co-editor of the book, Black Women and Popular Culture: The Conversation Continues (2014). Additionally, Natasha has written for academic and popular outlets on topics pertaining to the representation of Black women on television shows like 16 & Pregnant, Being Mary Jane, the Real Housewives of Atlanta, and in music videos. Natasha earned her doctorate in Mass Communications & Media Studies, with a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies, from Howard University. She earned a Master’s degree in Journalism from New York University, a Master’s degree in Education from Long Island University–Brooklyn, and earned her Bachelor’s degree in Communications, with a focus on Electronic Media, from Xavier University (OH). Outside of her academic work, Natasha is also a freelance writer and journalist and has been published on various online media publications platforms and presented at events such as the “Listen to Your Mother” Baltimore production in 2018 and the 2019 City Lit Festival in Baltimore, MD.