Libby Lewis

Libby Lewis, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pan-African Studies at California State University Los Angeles (Cal State LA), part of the College of Ethnic Studies. She holds a Ph.D. in African Diaspora Studies with a Designated Emphasis in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies from UC Berkeley. Her research focuses on media representation, race, gender, and sexuality across the U.S., U.K., and South Africa.

Dr. Lewis has been recognized with the NEH Bailey Fellowship and CSGS Faculty Research Fellowship. Her 2017 book, The Myth of Post-racialism in Television News, analyzes how journalists navigate racial and gendered identities in corporate newsrooms. She has spoken globally on media diversity, including at the United Nations and White House, and consulted on topics like post-racialism and cultural representation.

Her expertise spans African American Studies, Communications, and Cultural Studies. She actively engages in educational reform through roles like the Natural and Social Science Education Program Task Force at Cal State LA and collaborations with the Social Science Research Center (SSRC) on digital media’s societal impacts.

• Research Areas: Media representation, race, gender, sexuality, neoliberalism, and cultural practices
• Professional Experience: Former TV news anchor/reporter for CBS/NBC
• Grants/Awards: NEH, CSGS, CETL