Michelle N. Wilson, a native of Kansas City, MO, has an academic background in political science and experience in social justice. She is a graduate of Philander Smith College with a Bachelors of Arts in political science, with a minor in philosophy and religion. After graduation, she served as the Office Manager/Program Coordinator for the Social Justice Initiative (SJI) at Philander Smith College. She was later accepted into the Master’s program at Clark Atlanta University studying Political Science. Currently, her research agenda involves political theory, political and social justice education, urban planning, and civic engagement.
During her undergraduate career, Michelle was an active member of many organizations. She was the chaplain for BeYou, the first Gay-Straight Alliance at an HBCU in the state of Arkansas. She participated alongside the Human Rights Campaign to promote a community dialogue with religious organizations to address issues facing LGBTQ+ youth, such as housing and employment discrimination and violence. She was a founding member of the Social Justice League, a student-led organization that organized events such as a grassroots lecture series to introduce students to the greater Little Rock community. The League also partnered with End Mass Incarceration by creating a mock solitary confinement cell to highlight the negative impact of solitary confinement in overall rehabilitation. As a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., she also served as the chairman of the Social Justice and Human Rights Committee often coordinating over 15events in 2 years surrounding political education, history, community service, and civic engagement.
During her time with the Social Justice Institute of Philander Smith College, she successfully coordinated over 28 events & programs within 12 months. She assisted in coordinating a 5k walk/run to raise funds for students to study abroad. She also technical produced and coordinated the partnership with Columbus Creative Arts + Activism on the productions The Colored Museum, with a cast of Philander Smith Students and members of the Little Rock, AR community to raise funds for study abroad and raise awareness on the nuances of race, gender, and class. She also presented her first lecture, The Effects of Reality TV on Black Women, deconstructing the history of media on the perception of Black women in reality through critical discussion of popular reality television shows.
She currently works in the nonprofit sector focused on human rights issues that face Black women, femmes and girls. The thoughts she expresses here do not reflect any group, affiliate, or organization.
Sparkie 