Courtney Terry joins Portland State as an assistant professor in Black Studies. Born and reared in South Central Los Angeles, she graduated from Humboldt State University in Arcata, California with a bachelor's degree in Ethnic Studies in 2009. She went on to pursue graduate studies at Clark Atlanta University, a historically Black college in Atlanta, Georgia. She earned a master's in African American Studies (2011) and a doctorate in humanities specializing in English literature and African American Studies.
Terry's research interests are contemporary rap music and hip-hop culture as it manifests in North America and throughout the diaspora.