Joseph Derrick Nelson

Joseph Derrick Nelson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Educational Studies at Swarthmore College, where he chairs the Black Studies Program and serves as affiliated faculty in Gender & Sexuality Studies. He is also the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Coordinator. His research focuses on creating liberatory educational environments for Black children and youth, particularly Black boys in middle school, examining how race and gender stereotypes impact academic success. He leads the School Participatory Action Research Collaborative (SPARC) at the University of Pennsylvania and holds an Adjunct Associate Professor role at Columbia University’s Teachers College.

His scholarly work includes co-editing Boyhood in America: Development, Institutions, and Public Policy and his forthcoming book (Re)Imagining Black Boyhood. He has been featured in the Washington Post, The Atlantic, and NPR. Key roles include Co-Chair of the APA Task Force on Boys in School and Editor of Men and Masculinities. He has received fellowships from the Ford Foundation, National Academy of Education/Spencer Foundation, and the inaugural Boys’ Club of New York Fellowship.

His initiatives include The Listening Project, funded by the Spencer Foundation and Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, which trains middle schoolers in transformative interviewing to combat stereotypes. He also serves on boards for organizations like Equimundo and the Partnership for Male Youth, advocating for gender justice.