Taharka Anderson is a scholar-activist from Long Beach, CA, with over a decade of experience dedicated to supporting social and educational justice. His roles as a scholar, educator, organizer, and trainer have shaped his extensive background. As a 5th-year doctoral candidate in African & African Diaspora Studies at the University of Texas at Austin (UT), his research generally concerns: Theories of Race & Ethnicity; Black Education; Race, Class, and Gender in Education; Black Men and Boys’ Health and Vulnerabilities; School Discipline and Criminalization. He is currently writing his phenomenological dissertation, which historicizes Black masculinity within Western patriarchal social systems and explores how Black males in college experience, make sense of, and navigate punitive and exclusionary discipline in U.S. schools. His project also explores the extent to which those past experiences shape their current beliefs and behavior as Black men.

Over the past nine years, he has accrued diverse research experience working with scholars and collegiate administrators in Texas, Indiana, and California. At the University of Texas at Austin (UT), he is a Graduate Scholar for Project M.A.L.E.S. and served as a Graduate Student Mentor for the College of Liberal Arts Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship Program via the Institute for Urban Policy Research & Analysis. He is also a Graduate Researcher for UT’s Center for Teaching & Learning. Taharka has additionally been a Graduate Research Assistant on projects concerning the politics of Texas education, Black male introversion, the teaching of Texas slavery, and Black male education.

During his doctoral studies, Taharka has gained a wealth of teaching and leadership experience. Since 2021, he has been a Graduate Teaching Assistant and Grader for UT’s dynamic student population in courses such as Numbering Race, Sociology of Education, Promise & Perils of U.S. Public Education, and Education in Contemporary Black America. As a primary support for the scholarly growth of students, in these roles, Taharka used critical pedagogies and collaborative learning to enhance students’ writing, research, and critical thinking abilities. He was also appointed by the African & African Diaspora Studies Department to serve as their Graduate Student Representative on UT's College of Liberal Arts Graduate Student Advisory Council and has been the Graduate Student Representative for the Black Studies Graduate Student Organization.

Anthropology and Education Quarterly, an academic journal, features Taharka's inaugural scholarly publication—a book review of Derron Wallace’s The Culture Trap: Ethnic Expectations and Unequal Schooling for Black Youth. As a scholar-activist, Taharka has garnered recognition from influential platforms such as the Texas Education Consortium for Male Students of Color, Education Writers Association, EdSource, and USC Rossier. He has presented his work at esteemed research conferences including those hosted by the American Education Research Association, American Anthropological Association, Critical Race Studies in Education Association, and Emerging Scholars in Social Justice. His engagements extend to various college, community, and non-profit organizations.

Taharka holds a Master of Arts degree in Education, with a focus on Social & Cultural Analysis of Education, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from California State University, Long Beach.

Blending his personal and professional commitments to enhancing public understanding and access to scholarly research, Taharka launched Your Neighborhood Scholar in 2020. This virtual classroom and online learning community aims to disseminate neighborhood narratives, research, and resources, contributing to justice advancement in Black communities. Additionally, Taharka serves as the Research & Curriculum Development Specialist for the Afrikan Black Coalition (ABC), a statewide collective of Black Student Unions within the California State University and University of California collegiate systems, organizing Black students to secure educational resources. Formerly, he served as the Black Student Programs Director for ABC, managing a team focused on training and curriculum development for critical thinking, capacity building, and sustainability.

In his previous role as a Restorative Justice Strategist & Trainer at the California Conference for Equality & Justice (CCEJ), Taharka served as a Restorative Justice practitioner at an alternative high school for three years and trained hundreds of students, teachers, administrators, and community organizers throughout California in the theories and practices of Restorative Justice.

During his master's degree pursuit, he co-founded and served as the Co-Chair of KING II KING, an autonomous student-led Black men’s support group within the Black Student Union at California State University, Long Beach. Additionally, while completing his bachelor’s degree, he held leadership roles as the President of the Student African American Brotherhood and concluded his undergraduate tenure as the President of CSULB’s Black Student Union.

Check out Taharka’s Curriculum Vitae (CV) - A record of his academic, organizational, and community accomplishments.

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