Crystal Leigh Endsley

Crystal Leigh Endsley is Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York. Her first book, The Fifth Element: Social Justice Pedagogy Through Spoken Word Poetry explores spoken word poetry as a tool for social justice, critical feminist pedagogy, and new ways of teaching and learning. Crystal Leigh is an internationally renowned spoken word artist. Recognized by Cosmopolitan Magazine as a “Fun, Fearless Female,” Crystal Leigh is both performer and professor, and works to serve her community as an artist, activist, and academic. Her most recent scholarship-activism focuses on how spoken word poetry and performance can connect girls, impact their communities, and inform government policy. Crystal Leigh directed the creative performance of spoken word at the United Nations for International Day of the Girl in October 2016.