Dr. Earl J. Edwards is a nationally acclaimed scholar, educator, and community-engaged researcher whose work examines how structural racism affects the educational and housing experiences of youth and families experiencing homelessness. His scholarship advocates for equity-focused policy changes and improves institutional responses to better support historically marginalized populations, especially Black youth. Dr. Edwards is an Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy at Boston College’s Lynch School of Education and Human Development, where he directs the Housing, Education, and Equity Lab. His research has appeared in Urban Education, Children and Youth Services Review, Journal of Children and Poverty, and Leadership and Policy in Schools. He is also a co-author of All Students Must Thrive; a widely used practitioner guide focused on educational equity and trauma-informed practices.
A notable contribution of his scholarship is the article “Young, Black, Successful, and Homeless: Examining the Unique Academic Challenges of Black Students Who Experienced Homelessness” (Journal of Children and Poverty, 2020). Using in-depth qualitative interviews, the article explores how Black high school students who graduated while experiencing homelessness navigated racially hostile school environments that hindered access to federal supports guaranteed under the McKinney–Vento Act. The study shows that racialized school climates—manifested through unfair discipline, low expectations, strained student–teacher relationships, and fears of child protective services—act as hidden barriers to identification and support. The findings emphasize the need for race-conscious policy interventions to address the structural inequities embedded in homelessness legislation and educational systems.
Dr. Edwards has led extensive qualitative research and racial equity strategy development for public agencies nationwide. In Los Angeles County, he conducted over 200 interviews, focus groups, and community town halls to help guide a major reallocation of homelessness funding aimed at better supporting Black residents. His work was recognized by the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness as a model for equity-focused, community-based research and has influenced similar initiatives in Ohio, San Diego, and San Francisco.
He serves on several national research and policy bodies, including the Homeless Policy Research Institute at the University of Southern California, the National Racial Equity Working Group on Homelessness and Housing, the Anti-Racist Research and Data Team to End Homelessness, and the National Alliance to End Homelessness Research Advisory Board. He has also contributed to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Annual Homelessness Assessment Report to Congress and has helped shape emerging federal research priorities related to racial equity in homelessness.
Dr. Edwards serves on the board of Higher Ground Boston, a Roxbury-based nonprofit founded by Hubie Jones to tackle health and education inequalities in Boston’s Black neighborhoods, and also serves on the board of Brilliant Corners, an innovative supportive housing nonprofit that assists California’s most vulnerable populations.
He holds a Ph.D. in Urban Schooling from UCLA, an M.A. in Educational Leadership from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a B.A. in Sociology from Boston College.
