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Expert Inquiry

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ACLU-DE Annual Celebration Kandler Awardee

NPR Source of The Week

Governor Jack A. Markell’s Tribute & Recognition Award

40 Under 40 Award

William A. Vrooman Social Justice Exemplar Award, Delaware Center for Justice

“Teachers think the kids around here, don't really want to learn”: Street‐identified black men and women's attitudes toward teachers and schooling

“I Don’t let These Felonies Hold me Back!”: How Street-Identified Black Men and Women Use Resilience to Radically Reframe Reentry

Predicting trust in police: the impact of instrumental and expressive concerns in street-identified Black-American men and women

Street Participatory Action Research in Prison: A Methodology to Challenge Privilege and Power in Correctional Facilities

“Why I Can&apos;t Stand Out in Front of My House?”: Street‐Identified Black Youth and Young Adult&apos;s Negative Encounters With Police

Murder Town, USA: Homicide, Structural Violence, and Activism in Wilmington (Critical Issues in Crime and Society)

Yasser Arafat Payne is a Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware. Dr. Payne’s street ethnographic research program examines policing and reentry; economic well-being and educational inequality; and gun violence with street-identified Black Americans by utilizing Street Participatory Action Research (Street PAR)—the process of doing research and activism with street-identified populations. Dr. Payne’s work has appeared in Sociological Forum, Journal of Social Issues, Sociology Compass, and Race & Justice. Furthermore, Dr. Payne and his colleagues have also authored the book project titled "Murder Town USA: Homicide, Structural Violence and Activism in Wilmington" (Rutgers University Press).

Gun Violence

Street Ethnography

School Violence and School-To-Prison Pipeline

Experiences With Police

Ethnographic Field Research‎‎

Prison Reentry

Gangster Rap Music and Culture

Street Participatory Action Research (Street PAR)

English

University of Delaware Expert Profile

University of Delaware Faculty Profile

ResearchGate Citations

What a rise in Wilmington shootings of women says about city violence

Southbridge residents call for equal investment in $100M Riverfront East plan

Local NAACP leaders' news briefings with police prompt criticism

Looking For Solutions Amid The Pandemic Homicide Spike

Enlighten Me: UD professor's gun violence research expands

What We Know About Community Based Participatory Research in Prisons: Methods, Ethics, & Outcomes.

Urban Institute. #TransformPrison: A Roundtable on Prison Research and Innovation

Street Participatory Action Research: Doing Research & Activism with Street-Identified Black Men and Women

Street Participatory Action Research: Doing Research and Activism with The Streets of Black America

“Got The Hammer On Me": The Socio-Cultural Roots Of Gun Use In U.S. Cities”

“Finite Mixture Modeling of Community Violence Exposures and Health Related Quality of Life in Black American Adults”

“The Wilmington Street PAR Health Project: Health, Opportunity & Violence

"Safe Communities" Employment and Training Project

university-of-delaware-experts-exploring-black-and-brown-history-and-topics-all-year-long

From education to public policy, UD professors are consistently exploring the experiences of Black and brown people all year long.

Professor, Sociology and Criminal Justice; Africana Studies

Assistant Professor, Human Development and Family Sciences

While Black History Month officially ended on Friday, the topic is one that is always top of mind for many professors and experts here at the University of Delaware. Below are a small list of these experts and the areas they explore throughout the year. Click on their profiles or email mediarelations@udel.edu to connect. 

 Roderick Carey, associate professor in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, can discuss the importance of gender and race diversity in teaching.













Ann Aviles and Ohiro Oni-Eseleh, both professors in the College of Education and Human Development, can share resources for displaced families and guidance for parents, educators and other community members who want to support them.












Yasser Payne, professor of sociology, examines notions of resilience, structural violence and gun violence with Black Americans. 


University of Delaware experts exploring Black and brown history and topics all year long

election-2024-providing-insight-during-a-pivotal-campaign-season

Associate Professor, American Politics, Political Psychology and Race and Ethnic Politics; Director of Internships

Professor and Chair, Political Science Political Science and International Relations

Professor, Communication

Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Chair of Civil Discourse

 Voter behavior and emotion, civil discourse, the spread of misinformation, the role of gender and race in politics and conspiracy theories are among the many topics University of Delaware experts can comment on during this final stretch of the 2024 campaign.

 David Redlawsk Professor of Political Science  and International Relations Expertise: Political psychologist who studies voter behavior and emotion, focuses on how voters process political information to make their decisions. He has written several books on politics, worked behind the scenes on campaigns and ran for local office.    Dannagal Young  Professor of Communication Director of the Center for Political Communication  Expertise: The spread of misinformation in politics and the intersection of entertainment and information, with an emphasis on political satire, political media effects, public opinion and the psychology of political humor.   Kassra Oskooii  Professor of Political Science and International Relations  Expertise: Focuses on the interplay between the contextual and psychological determinants of political opinions and behaviors of high and low status group members.    Erin Cassese  Professor of Political Science and International Relations  Expertise: Explores the behavior of women as voters and candidates for political office, and studies political psychology, gender stereotypes, public opinion, elections and the intersection of religion and politics.   Yasser Payne  Professor of Sociology and Africana Studies  Expertise: Research program also focuses on Black racial identity; street identity;  economic and educational opportunity or the impact of structural violence.    Tim Shaffer    SNF Ithaca Director Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Chair of Civil Discourse  Expertise: Civil discourse in politics; can talk about partisanship, polarization and their impact on media outlets. advancement of democratic practices by focusing on the role of civic professionals in institutional settings.   Alice Ba  Professor and acting chair, Political Science and International Relations. Expertise: Her work on the international relations of East and Southeast Asia examines the structures, processes, and systemic effects of regionalism and cooperative regime building, as well as relations between smaller and major powers.   Joanne Miller  Professor of American Politics, Research Methods and Political Psychology  Expertise: Studies political psychology, with an emphasis on political propaganda, misinformation and conspiracy theories.   Muqtedar Khan  Professor of Comparative Politics, International Relations and Political Theory  Expertise: Issues surrounding U.S. foreign policy in the Muslim World as well as national security and counter-terrorism.  To speak with any of these experts, simply visit their profle and click on the "contact" button, which will send a message directly to them (while also copying UD's media relations team). 

Election 2024: Providing insight during a pivotal campaign season

Dr. Yasser Arafat Payne is a full Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware. Dr. Payne completed his doctoral work at the Graduate Center-City University of New York where he was trained as a social-personality psychologist. Also, Dr. Payne completed a postdoctoral fellowship funded by the National Institute of Drug Abuse (NIH-NIDA) whereby he worked on a re-entry, and intervention-based research project in New York City’s largest jail, Rikers Island—a project designed to reduce: (1) recidivism, (2) drug use, and (3) other risky behavior leading to HIV/AIDS. 

Dr. Payne's latest Street Participatory Action Research (Street PAR) project is entitled: The People's Report: The Link between Structural Violence and Crime in Wilmington, Delaware. This community-based study trained fifteen people (20-48) formerly involved with The Streets and/or the criminal justice system as participatory action researchers to empirically document the impact of community violence in the Eastside and Southbridge neighborhoods of Wilmington, Delaware. This research indicated that, particularly in the black community, there are several incorrect assumptions about 

Dr. Payne and Dr. Daniels will discuss that there is diversity in our perceptions of well-being; thus, assumptions about what “feels safe” need to be challenged. Feelings about safety and well-being can differ based on the person and community they are part of.

Challenging Assumptions about Well-Being in Black Communities - with Dr. Yasser Payne

Yasser Arafat Payne, Phd. is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice and the Department of Africana Studies at the University of Delaware. Dr. Payne has organized a street ethnographic research program centered on exploring notions of resilience and resiliency with the streets of Black America using an unconventional methodological framework entitled Street Participatory Action Research (Street PAR). Street PAR is the process of doing research and activism with street-identified populations. Challenging the dominant arguments in the literature, Dr. Payne asserts that all members of the streets are in fact, resilient. His research program further focuses on Black racial identity, street identity, physical violence, as well as “gangster rap” music and culture.

Yasser Payne on Research and Activism with Street-Identified Populations

Yasser Arafat Payne is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice and the Department of Africana Studies at the University of Delaware. Dr. Payne completed his doctoral work at the Graduate Center-City University of New York where he was trained as a social-personality psychologist. Also, he completed a NIDA/NIH funded post-doctoral fellowship in public health at Hunter College where he worked on re-entry project with male adolescents in Rikers Island.

Dr. Payne’s street ethnographic research program examines notions of resilience, structural violence and gun violence with street-identified Black Americans by drawing on an unconventional methodological framework entitled: Street Participatory Action Research (Street PAR)—the process of doing research and activism with street identified populations. Presently, he leads two Street PAR projects on gun violence in the City of Wilmington funded by Christiana Care Hospital; and he leads a national Street PAR project on gun violence in the following five cities: Wilmington, DE; Baltimore, MD; Detroit, Michigan; News Orleans, Louisiana; and Brooklyn, New York City. The name of this national Street PAR project is, “Got The Hammer On Me”: The Socio-Cultural Roots of Gun Violence; and this national study is funded by the National Collaborative on Gun Violence Research and the Arnolds Venture Foundation. Dr. Payne’s research program also focuses on Black racial identity; street identity; Black masculinity; economic and educational opportunity or the impact of structural violence; as well as focuses on Gangster Rap music and culture.

Dr. Payne’s first Street PAR project in Wilmington, Delaware was The People’s Report: The Link between Structural Violence and Crime in Wilmington, Delaware. This study trained fifteen people (20-48) formerly involved with the criminal justice system to empirically document the relationship between economic well-being and gun violence in the Eastside and Southbridge neighborhoods of Wilmington. This study was funded with generous grants issued by the American Recovery Reinvestment Act, the University of Delaware and The United Way of Delaware. To learn more about this project please go to: thepeoplesreport.com. Dr. Payne’s Street PAR projects with Christiana Care Hospital (Street PAR Health Project) are on-going mix-methods studies that examines the relationship between economic well-being, health and violence in the Northside and Westside neighborhoods of Wilmington, Delaware.

Dr. Payne also completed his second video street ethnographic project in Harlem, NYC entitled: The Streets of Harlem: How Black Men in The Streets Adapt to Structural Violence. This independent film project explores the lived experiences of opportunity among street identified Black men in Harlem NYC. Topics include experiences with violence, fatherhood, education, employment, housing, prison re-entry and experiences with police. Also, this research documentary captures how Harlem-based street identified Black men, across generations, frame notions of resilience in relation to structural violence.

Furthermore, Dr. Payne has published a number of peer reviewed journal articles, book chapters and op-eds; and he and his colleague are under contract for a book project entitled: Murder Town USA: Homicide, Structural Violence and Activism.

2021 Kandler Awards: All About Dr. Yasser Payne

Yasser Arafat Payne is the organizer of a street ethnographic research program centered on exploring notions of resilience and resiliency with the streets of Black and Brown America using an unconventional framework called, Street Participatory Action Research (Street PAR).

Dr. Payne aims to break down stereotypical barriers and images of Black and Brown people in the criminal justice system, so that transition back in the community and opportunities for upward mobility are successful. Dr. Payne’s work is centered on humanizing those in the criminal justice system and getting undergraduate and graduate students as well as faculty, service providers and/or everyday residents to work more closely with those in the criminal justice system

Dr. Payne is an Associate Professor in the Department of Black American Studies at the University of Delaware.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx

"Walk with me" -- a community development effort | Yasser Payne | TEDxWilmington

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