About Me

I am a poet, professor, and vinyl record collector whose life sits at the intersection of the mic and the methodology. Writing and performing under the name Ant Black, I have spent decades building spoken word communities, producing scholarly work, and bringing the two together in the classroom and on the page.

As a poet, I am a founding member of Collective Purpose and the open-mic series Elevated, two projects that helped bring the San Diego spoken word and poetry slam scene to national prominence. I led the San Diego Poetry Slam team in five national competitions — including the team’s historic first final-stage appearance in 2013, where we placed fourth out of 72 teams — appeared on TVOne’s Verses & Flow, and performed an opening poem for San Diego FC alongside fellow poet Rudy Francisco. I continue to perform with bkSoul, a spoken word and dance collective committed to stories of justice, spirit, and liberation, and am the founder and co-host of Word 66, an open mic in San Bernardino. In the literary community, I serve as publisher of the San Diego Poetry Annual and as Vice President of the San Diego Entertainment + Arts Guild.

Academically, I hold a Ph.D. in Cultural Studies from Claremont Graduate University with a concentration in Africana Studies, where my research explored the historical context, cultural impact, and intellectual traditions of spoken word and performance poetry. I also hold a master’s degree in Sociological Practice from Cal State San Marcos, where my research focused on church communities as advocates for racial health equity.