Maya Singhal is an anthropologist interested in crime and mutual aid in African and Chinese diasporic populations. Their research and teaching also deals more broadly with race, capitalism, racial capitalism, and intergenerational conflicts. Their current book project is an ethnographic and historical study of African American and Chinese American self- and community defense in New York City and the histories of extralegal neighborhood protection (e.g. gangs, neighborhood patrols and associations, etc.) that inform these present-day efforts towards safety. Singhal received a PhD in Anthropology from Harvard University, MAs from the University of Chicago and New York University, and a BA from New York University.
Dr. Samah Choudhury is a visiting faculty member and researcher with the Department of Race, Diaspora, and Indigeneity for the 2023-2024 academic year, where she will be working on her first book, American Muslim and the Politics of Secularity. Her scholarship surrounds notions of humor, subjecthood, religion, and race in the 21st-century United States. How has “a sense of humor” come to be cultivated as a positive personality trait, and where does the American Muslim subject configure against those broader secular confines? Choudhury is also an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies at Ithaca College, where she teaches courses on religion, race, pop culture, and Islam.
Audre Smikle is the Communications Assistant for RDI and is committed to making beautiful and concise communications that allow people to authentically engage with RDI's work. Through her experience in building volunteer programs, creating educational projects, and designing thought-provoking graphics, she has become a leader dedicated to making the world more equitable through education, content creation, and activism. As a collaborator, Audre encourages empathetic dialogue while asking tough questions. Using multi-media platforms, she helps institutions create a strong brand ensuring their connection and visibility in the community. Audre graduated from Northwestern University with a B.A in African American Studies and Radio/TV/Film. During her undergrad, Audre worked on projects that scrutinized institutional whiteness and racial capitalism through the lens of Black Marxism and Black feminist theory. Audre endeavors to live up to her namesake, Audre Lorde, by dedicating her life to activism, art, and scholarly investigations of systemic racism and misogynoir. Dedicated to both racial justice and climate justice, Audre spends her free time volunteering, creating, and healing both the earth and her community.