Gene McAdoo Doctoral Researcher

Gene McAdoo is a doctoral student in Urban Schooling division at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. His research interests are positioned at the intersection of Black Studies and Education and are primarily concerned with exploring how Black students work to overcome educational obstacles related to anti-blackness to thrive academically. The central goal of his research agenda is to develop an understanding of how anti-blackness manifests in schools in order to develop solutions that will improve the holistic educational experiences and lifelong trajectories of Black students.

As a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, he wrote his senior thesis on Black students’ experiences of anti-blackness in Los Angeles County public schools in addition to how Black students engaged in educational fugitivity to resist and challenge anti-blackness in their schooling experiences. Professionally, he has worked for the UCLA VIP Scholars, serving as a mentor for Black students throughout Los Angeles County and working to provide them with academic and social support in such a way as to enhance their holistic wellbeing and competitive eligibility in the college admissions process.