Sherri Williams

Dr. Sherri Williams is a scholar and educator at American University's School of Communication, specializing in race, representation, and social media. She holds a Ph.D. in Mass Communications from Syracuse University and a B.A. in English/Journalism from Jackson State University. Her research explores how Black communities use social media to drive social justice and reshape media narratives, particularly focusing on marginalized identities like Black women. She teaches courses on intersectionality, media representation, and community journalism, emphasizing ethical storytelling for liberation.

Williams is the School of Communication’s Inclusion Officer and co-director of the award-winning Black on Campus project, which documented Black college student experiences via student journalism. Her work bridges academia and activism, as seen in her book Black Social Television: How Black Twitter Changed Television (2025), analyzing digital activism’s impact on TV content. She has collaborated with media outlets like The Nation and Teen Vogue, publishing student-driven projects such as the 2020 Election Stories and Racial Reckoning series.

• Education: Ph.D. in Mass Communications (Syracuse University), M.A. in Journalism (Syracuse University), B.A. in English (Jackson State University)
• Key Research Themes: Anti-Blackness in Media, Digital Activism, Feminist Media Studies
• Awards: 2021 NABJ Journalism Educator of the Year, 2020-21 Greenberg Teaching Award

Her courses, such as Identity, Power and Misrepresentation, critically examine colonialism, capitalism, and heteropatriarchy in media. She frequently consults for national media on race and representation, appearing in outlets like CNN, BBC, and Smithsonian Magazine.