I am an historical and cultural sociologist whose research interests are centered on ontologies of race, racialization, and racism. The enduring questions that motivate my research agenda are: In the historical thrust of racial capitalism, how is racial difference invented, rationalized, and systemically imposed on human groups? And how do racialized peoples (re)make themselves within this dynamic context of systemic racism? While the former question concerns systems and structures, the latter has all to do with human agency. My research has examined these questions across a broad array of topics, including migration, education, collective memory, and social theory. I have published two book manuscripts: Gone Home: Race and Roots through Appalachia (UNC Press, 2018) and The Sociology of W.E.B. Du Bois: Racialized Modernity and the Global Color Line (NYU Press, 2020), co-authored with José Itzigsohn. In addition, my research is published in various peer-reviewed academic journals such as the American Journal of Cultural Sociology, Southern Cultures, and The Du Bois Review.