Javon Johnson

Javon Johnson is an Associate Professor and Director of African American & African Diaspora Studies at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, with an appointment in Gender & Sexuality Studies. He earned his Ph.D. in Performance Studies with certificates in Gender Studies and African American Studies from Northwestern University in 2010.

• Research focuses on performance, blackness, slam poetry, and cultural studies
• Published in journals like Text & Performance Quarterly and QED: A Journal of Queer Worldmaking
• Author of Killing Poetry (2017) and co-editor of The End of Chiraq (2018)

As a three-time national poetry slam champion, he bridges academic and creative spaces through exhibitions at institutions like the California African American Museum. His recent one-man show Still. (2021) and media appearances highlight intersections of art, race, and social commentary.