J'Mauri Jackson

J'Mauri Jackson (she/her) is a Ph.D. candidate in Public Policy and Sociology at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, where she is advised by Paula Lantz and Celeste Watkins-Hayes (Public Policy) and Renee Anspach and Jeffrey D. Morenoff (Sociology). Her interdisciplinary research examines the social and structural determinants of racial health inequities, with particular focus on the intersection of carcerality and health outcomes. She employs mixed methodological approaches grounded in Black feminist epistemology to investigate how systemic racism manifests in health disparities and healthcare access.

Jackson's scholarship has been recognized with prestigious awards, including the 2025 Kimberlé Crenshaw Outstanding Article Award (Critical Race and Ethnic Studies Division) and an Honorable Mention for the 2025 Outstanding Article Award (Social Theory Division) from the Society for the Study of Social Problems for her co-authored work "Mourning for Strangers: Black Women, Sequelae, and the Digital Afterlife of Police Violence," published in Feminist Criminology. Her master's thesis, "The Commodification of Diversity in the Context of School Choice," received the 2024 Mark Chesler Paper Award from the University of Michigan Department of Sociology and the 2023 Outstanding Scholarship Award (Educational Problems Division) from the Society for the Study of Social Problems.

Currently, Jackson is conducting research on disability rights and healthcare conditions in Michigan's correctional facilities as part of the Carceral State Project's "Confronting Conditions of Confinement" team. Her work bridges academic research and policy application, as demonstrated through her research associateship with the Economic Growth Institute, where she contributed to analyses of equity in workforce development programs, and her previous roles at the Center for Policing Equity and Duke University's QualCore program.

Jackson holds a Master of Arts in Sociology from Indiana University (2022) and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from The Ohio State University (2019, cum laude). She is a recipient of the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program award and the Rackham Merit Fellowship. Her professional training includes participation in the Critical Race Theory Summer School at the African American Policy Forum, Duke University School of Medicine's BRIDGE program, and the University of Michigan's Summer Institute in Survey Research Techniques.

At the University of Michigan, Jackson serves as a Graduate Research Fellow at the Center for Racial Justice, a graduate affiliate of the RacismLab at the Institute for Social Research, and Community Outreach/Alternative Spring Break Chair for Students of Color of Rackham. She has demonstrated leadership in academic service as the 2023-2025 Student Representative for the American Sociological Association Section on Medical Sociology, Associate Editor (2023-2025) of the Michigan Journal of Public Affairs, and served on multiple professional committees, including the ASA Medical Sociology Leo G. Reeder Award Committee, the Association of Black Sociologists Professional Awards Committee, and the Ph.D. Admissions Committee at the Ford School of Public Policy.

Jackson's commitment to translational research extends to her mentorship activities, having guided undergraduate honors theses that received recognition, including the 2022 Weatherly Award for Best Undergraduate Paper in Sociology. Her work aims to inform evidence-based policy and practice that address the health consequences of structural racism and advance health equity through systemic change.