Name: T. Elon Dancy II, Ph.D.
Work: Helen S. Faison Endowed Chair Professor of Urban Education and Director, Center for Urban Education in the School of Education at the University of Pittsburgh
The mantra of the center is "Learn, Share and Transform," and that speaks to two areas of impact that we hope the center is having: one on research and one in service. The learning part is about the knowledge that we are trying to discover, that has to do with urban education, issues, and concerns. The sharing piece is about how all of our efforts disseminate what we know to the people and organizations where it can be most useful. Transform is about change, [bringing] about change in education and society, the change that is necessary for minoritized, marginalized, and vulnerable populations, as we think about teaching and learning both formalized and informalized.
You are relatively new to this position and Pittsburgh.
I came here from the University of Oklahoma. When this position came available, I realized I would get a chance to center my work in the areas where I am most motivated. The entire scope of my work would get to think with communities, organize with communities about advancement and education ... and think with people on how to organize education in a way that isn’t predicated on Black suffering and Black anti-humanity within these [educational] spaces. How do we shift that and transform that kind of relationship? That has been very rewarding.
And revolutionary work! [Laughs] How do fashion and style come into the area of academics, intellectual spaces?
I think about the quote from RuPaul, “We are all born naked and the rest is drag.” [Laughs] It is always a style; it is always a drag. You are always saying something about yourself when you wardrobe yourself. It is kind of funny to me how some academics I have encountered in the past think they are making decisions that exempt them, as though you can be too serious for style and that style is something that serious academics don't think about, but however they style themselves is a style.
So tell me about your style.
I love clothes and I love to express myself through clothes. I have a varied style — today I am wearing a suit, but the shirt has a print. What it’s saying, I suppose today, is that I am in charge of a multimillion-dollar budget but I do know how to have fun. [Laughs] I tend to like a sleek, buttoned-up look. But I also like straight, skinny jeans. As a Masculinity scholar, there are messages that men get, that you shouldn’t be wearing maybe jeans that are tight to the leg or whatever ... but we have to be critical about that. Is that a spirit-murdering message or life-giving? Does it foreclose opportunities for our expression or does it open opportunities? I love it so I wear that look with boots, Polo boots or Timbs, so I look at the fashion of a Nas or Jay-Z, it influences the way that I look. So when I am teaching classes, I tend to wear jeans, hoodies sweatshirts — I think about Trayvon Martin, the hood is about the discourse of whether or not he deserved to die?! I love a hooded sweatshirt, and when I wear it, I think of it as a form of resistance. There are message sweatshirts that represent my pride and love of Blackness and Black people.
What are you wearing today from head to toe?
The glasses are actually Warby Parker, the suit is an Italian suit I had tailored, the shirt may be Banana Republic — it is a bold print like a Hawaiian tropical flower print — with a Calvin Klein navy tie and silver tie pin. The watch is a Michael Kors watch. I love a gold watch; it is a pop of color on your wrist. Wearing Cole Hahn shoes, I like looks that look effortless.
Are you wearing a special gift to yourself and from someone else?
The watch is a special gift from me to me. My wedding ring is from my partner, a symbol of my love and affection ... I am so blessed to have a loving and supportive partner.
