JAVIAN BAKER, PhD is a scholar, writer, and child advocate from New Orleans, Louisiana. He recently defended his Georgetown University dissertation titled And the Children Shall Lead Them: The Public Theology of Marian Wright Edelman and the Collective Responsibility for Abolishing Child Poverty. His research focuses on African American religion, politics, and culture. His research and teaching interests include, but are not limited to, African American Christianity and Black Islam, African American Political and Economic Thought, Ethics, and Religion in Public Life. Dr. Baker is a former Mellon-grant sponsored research associate at Loyola University of New Orleans, where he researched higher education in prison programs in the state of Louisiana. He is the vice-president for the Charles Deslondes Branch of the Association for the Study of African American Life and History in New Orleans. He also volunteers with several grassroots organizations concerning youth justice and environmental injustice advocacy coalitions. He holds a Ph.D. from Georgetown University, a Master of Theological Studies from Vanderbilt Divinity School, and a BA from Xavier University of Louisiana.
