Brandi Collins-Dexter was a dynamic, visionary, courageous scholar whose work melded the study of race, media, history, and social justice into a unique lens for understanding today’s world. She was a member of the Shorenstein Center’s research community for nearly six years, as a visiting fellow, associate research director, and Schuster Media & Technology fellow. The Shorenstein Center mourns her recent death from pancreatic cancer at the age of 44, and the loss of a deeply valued partner, thought leader, and friend.
Executive Director Laura Manley, who worked closely with Brandi, remembered her as a force for justice who directly linked knowledge and power. “Everything about her radiated strength, courage, and unwavering integrity. Brandi was a moral compass, a fearless force for justice, and a deeply compassionate friend. We have lost a titan in the fight for truth and someone who made each of us feel seen, valued, and stronger just by knowing her.”
Brandi first joined the Shorenstein Center in Fall 2019 as a visiting fellow. During her fellowship she built upon her deep experience in media justice work and scholarship to study Black community spaces online – research which would lead to her critically acclaimed 2022 book “Black Skinhead: Reflections on Blackness and our Political Future,” and Shorenstein Center paper “Canaries in the Coal Mine: COVID 19 Misinformation and Black Communities.”
“Canaries in the Coal Mine,” published in June 2020, explored how the history of medical racism, combined with underreporting of the impacts of COVID-19 on Black people and communities, led to increasing distrust and openness to conspiracy theories and disinformation about the pandemic in Black communities both online and off. “In absence of a story that made sense to Black communities, you start looking to other places to fill in the blanks,” she explained on the Lawfare podcast. “Canaries in the Coal Mine” is a quintessential example of Brandi’s scholarship: deep, contextualized research written powerfully and accessibly, with a clear-eyed view of what is needed to change the existing paradigms she so artfully describes.
“Black Skinheard: Reflections on Blackness and our Political Future,” her book on the kaleidoscope of Black political ideology in America, was published in July 2022, just weeks before Kanye West (who was a focal story of the book, and whose song the title references) was suspended from Twitter for antisemitic posts. “Brandi Collins-Dexter has uncanny timing,” began the New York Times’ recommendation of her book that October. But her timing was not just chance, it was her signature combination of being able to see the whole picture as well as the minute details, and looking ahead to what they could portend. Kirkus Reviews called “Black Skinhead” “a remarkable work that leaves us feeling hopeful for change,” and the Chicago Tribune said Brandi was a “poignant voice on race and accountability” – both apt descriptions of her book, and her life’s work.
In addition to her individual scholarship, Brandi was a deeply valued friend and collaborator to a huge community of fellow researchers and changemakers. Shorenstein Center Senior Researcher Brian Friedberg described the personal, professional, and scholarly loss of her passing, saying “Brandi’s brilliant mind and righteous vision are irreplaceable, and have forever changed my philosophical orientation and political imagination.”
After serving as Associate Director of Research for a program at the center, where she continued her research and mentored young scholars, Brandi held the Schuster Media & Technology fellowship at the Shorenstein Center from Fall 2023 until the time of her death. Brandi dedicated much of this fellowship time to building scholarly networks and cross-disciplinary engagement of researchers working on related issues of media, race, and technology. In 2024 she led the organizing of the Outbraving Summit, a groundbreaking two-day convening of leading scholars of technology, media, politics and race headlined by Professors Safiya Nobel of UCLA and Latanya Sweeney of Harvard. Brandi’s signature thoughtfulness to both the substance and culture of the event permeated the entire convening and attracted world renowned scholars to discuss some of the most essential topics of our time.
Shorenstein Center Director Nancy Gibbs remembers Brandi as a brilliant thinker with a deep dedication to her work and the people around her. She “radiated a commitment to excellence,” Gibbs says, “but success would be measured by how much everyone learned, everyone grew, everyone came away with a more sophisticated understanding of the forces shaping our world. For someone so bright and commanding, with her quiet confidence and fierce curiosity, she made space for other stars to shine. Brandi created a creative, courageous space for inquiry; anyone lucky enough to share it was changed by it. How I wish we had all had more time, she had had more time. But hers is a legacy that knows no end.”
In memory of Brandi Collins-Dexter, the Shorenstein Center will rename its annual community award in her honor, to celebrate the integrity, impact, and courage that Brandi demonstrated throughout her work and her life. We will miss her, and strive to carry the light of her life and her work forward with us.
