The Racism and Racial Bullying research study (IRB-FY2025-111) is based at Rice University and has been developed to examine racism and racial bullying in schools to better understand its impact and identify ways to improve school environments. Parents, teachers, and administrators are encouraged to participate because their experiences and insights are vital for shaping solutions that promote inclusivity and fairness in schools.
Research Team
Dr. Elizabeth Hordge-Freeman,
Principal Investigator, Associate Professor of Sociology, Rice University
Dr. Elizabeth Hordge-Freeman is an Associate Professor of Sociology with a joint appointment in the Center of African & African American Studies at Rice University whose work focuses on anti-Blackness, racism, and racial justice in the United States and across the African Diaspora. Taking an intersectional approach, her work centers Black women and families, examining how race, gender, emotion, and power shape inequality, harm, and resistance. Her work is informed by transnational research and is conducted in English, Spanish, and Portuguese, which reflects her deep commitment to global and diasporic perspectives.
She is the author of two books: The Color of Love: Racial Features, Stigma, and Socialization in Black Brazilian Families and Second-Class Daughters: Black Brazilian Women and Informal Adoption as Modern Slavery. These books together have received several major awards from national and international scholarly organizations, including the American Sociological Association and the Brazilian Studies Association. She has published two co-edited book volumes and published widely in leading academic journals.
Dr. Hordge-Freeman is deeply committed to public sociology, taking her work beyond the academy through art exhibitions, a TEDx talk, an award-winning documentary (Journey Towards Justice), and accessible public scholarship, including a YouTube channel focused on racism, anti-Blackness, and racial justice.
Prior to joining Rice, she held senior leadership roles at the University of South Florida, including serving as Senior Advisor to the President and Provost for Diversity and Inclusion, with a focus on anti-racism, and as Interim Vice President for Institutional Equity. She also helped secure a transformative $1 million private gift to establish the Racial Justice Initiative, which she was appointed to lead, supporting racial justice and civil rights education, research, and community engagement.
As a researcher and mother of two public school–educated children, she is especially passionate about ensuring that schools nurture the growth, well-being, and belonging of Black children and students from historically excluded communities.