As a critical scholar of racism, leadership, and community voice in governance, I believe that research is more than an endeavor of objectivity in search of some version of the truth. Research is in itself, a responsibility “answerable and obligated to the very persons and communities being engaged in the inquiry” (Dillard, 2000, p. 663). Therefore, my work is grounded in a deep understanding of racism and inequities in society and a responsibility to the communities from which I come, from which I learn, and with whom I continue to seek liberation. 

Peer Reviewed Journal Articles

1. Bridgeforth, J.C. (forthcoming). Leading through the Fire: Responding to Racism in K-12 Schools. Journal of Research on Leadership Education

2. McClure, S., Ditzel, K., & Bridgeforth, J.C. (forthcoming). “I joined a sorority, so that helped a lot…”: The centrality of Black Greek organizational membership for HPWI Black students and alumni. Journal of Sorority and Fraternity Life Research and Practice

3. Bridgeforth, J.C. & O’Neal, D. (2024). (Re)Setting the Racial Narrative: AntiBlackness and Educational Censorship. Education Policy Analysis Archives. 32. https://doi.org/10.14507/epaa.32.7926

4. Daramola, E.J., Enoch-Stevens, T., Bridgeforth, J.C., & Nkansah-Amankra, A. (2024) “On a Risky Slope of Democracy”: Racialized Logics Embedded in Community–School Board Interactions. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 46(3), 506-533. https://doi.org/10.3102/01623737231175166

5. Marsh, J., Bridgeforth, J.C., Mulfinger, L., O’Neal, D., & Tong, T. (2024). Shocking the System? The COVID Crisis and Virtual Schooling in Oregon. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis.

6. Allbright, T. N., Dhaliwal, T. K., Alonso, J., Bridgeforth, J.C., Santander, M., & Kennedy, K. E. (2023). Schools as Solutions, Students as Problems: A Critical Discourse Analysis of Institutional Scripts in High School Websites. Educational Administration Quarterly, 59(4), 845–878.

7. Alonso, J., Dhaliwal, T., Santander, M., Bridgeforth, J.C., Kennedy, K., & Allbright, T. (2022). Flipping the Script: Transformational Teamwork for Communicating Equity. AASA Journal of Scholarship & Practice, 19(3), 52-62. 

8. Bridgeforth, J. C. (2021). “This Isn’t Who We Are”: A Critical Discourse Analysis of School and District Leaders’ Responses to Racial Violence in Schools. Journal of School Leadership. 31(1–2), 85–106.

9. Bridgeforth, J.C., Kennedy, K., Alonso, J., & Enoch-Stevens, T. (2021). Conceptions of Choice, Equity, & Rurality in Educational Research: A Review of the Literature on Rural Education and School Choice Policies. The Rural Educator, 42(2), 1-15.

10. Bridgeforth, J.C. (2021). Yes, Black Lives Still Matter and Politics-Free Schools are a Myth. Texas Education Review, 9(1), 65-71. 

Peer Reviewed Book Chapters

1. Bridgeforth, J.C. (2024) Beyond Board Etiquette: Responding to Racism in K-12 School Boardrooms. In Johnson, R.M. and Harper, S.R. (Eds.). The Big Lie About Race in America’s Schools. Harvard Education Press.

2. Patel, H. & Bridgeforth, J.C. (2021). “Sure, Black Lives Matter, but Why Do They Have to Loot and Riot?!”: Debunking Myths of Black Protest. In McClure, S. & Harris, C. (Eds.) Getting Real About Race. 3rd Ed. SAGE Publications.

3. Bridgeforth, J.C. & McClure, S. (2016). Social Capital and Higher Education: Network Resources, Outcomes, and Opportunities. In Devitis, J. & Sasso, P. (Eds.) Higher Education and Society. Peter Lang Publishing

4. Womack, V., Bridgeforth, J.C., & Beasley, B. (2014). “Black People Voted for Obama Just Because He’s Black”: Group Identification and Voting Patterns. In McClure, S. & Harris, C. (Eds.) Getting Real About Race: Hoodies, Mascots, Model Minorities, and Other Conversations. 1st Ed. SAGE Publications.

Public Scholarship and Policy Briefs

1. Bridgeforth, J.C. & White, R.S. (2025). School Boards. In Live Handbook of Education Policy Research. Harris, D. (ed.), Association for Education Finance and Policy. https://livehandbook.org/k-12-education/governance-of-schools/school-boards/

2. Marsh, J., Bridgeforth, J.C., Mulfinger, L., O’Neal, D., & Tong, T. (2024). Responding to Crisis: Virtual Schooling in Oregon during the COVID-19 Pandemic. National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice

3. Marsh, J. A., Koppich, J. E., Humphrey, D. C., Kimner, H., Mulfinger, L. S., Allbright, T. N., Alonso, J., Bridgeforth, J.C., Daramola, E. J., Enoch-Stevens, T., Kennedy, K. E., & Nkansah-Amankra, A. (2022, June). Crisis response in California school districts: Leadership, partnership, and community [Report]. Policy Analysis for California Education.

4. Bridgeforth, J.C. & Kimner, H. (2023) Aligning student-centered systems and structures through community schools. California Schools Magazine.

5. Bridgeforth, J.C. (2021, October 8). Navigating Responses to Racism in Your School Community. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Publications in Popular Media

1. Bridgeforth, J.C. & Desir, S. (2021, April 15). Reopening schools is often framed as a matter of equity. Two Black educators ask: ‘Equity for whom?’. In Strauss, V. Answer Sheet. Washington Post.

2. Bridgeforth, J.C. (2020). You Made Me Enforce Useless Dress Codes for Years. Don't Claim Face Masks Go Too Far. Education Week.

3. Harper, S.R. & Bridgeforth, J.C. (2019). Why We Weren't Surprised to See Teachers Holding a Noose. Education Week.

Book Reviews

1. Bridgeforth, J.C. (2021). Review of Why They Hate Us: How Racist Rhetoric Impacts Education by Pérez Huber, L. & Muñoz, S. (Eds). The Professional Educator, 45(1), 21-24.

2. Bridgeforth, J. C. (2021, March 3). Review of Suddenly diverse: How school districts manage race & inequality by E. O. Turner. Education Review, 28.

3. Bridgeforth, J.C. (2020). Review of Crisis Management: Resilience and Change by S. Kovoor-Misra. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management. 29(2), 229-230. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-5973.12349

Practice Briefs for K-12 Educators

In collaboration with the USC Race and Equity Center, I developed eight practice briefs for K-12 educators and preparers of K-12 educators. Each brief offers research-based guidance on how to operationalize commitments to racial equity and justice in K-12 educational spaces.

1. Bridgeforth, J.C. (2024). Teaching the Truth about Slavery and America’s Racial History. USC Race and Equity Center

2. Bridgeforth, J.C. (2024). Recognizing and Addressing Acts of Explicit Racism in Schools. USC Race and Equity Center

3. Bridgeforth, J. C. (2024). Cultivating Relationships with Families and Communities of Color. USC Race and Equity Center

4. Bridgeforth, J.C. (2024). Affirming Students’ Racial and Cultural Identities in Curricula. USC Race and Equity Center

5. Bridgeforth, J.C. (2024). Creating Affirming Classrooms for LGBTQ Students of Color. USC Race and Equity Center

6. Bridgeforth, J.C. (2024). Eliminating Racial Disproportionality in School Discipline. USC Race and Equity Center

7. Bridgeforth, J.C. (2024). Meaningfully Integrating Racial Topics Across the Curriculum. USC Race and Equity Center

8. Bridgeforth, J.C. (2024). Understanding Students’ Encounters with Anti-Blackness in Schools. USC Race and Equity Center