She was recently appointed as a fellow with the Thurgood Marshall Institute — a multidisciplinary research and advocacy policy center within the NAACP’s Legal Defense and Educational Fund (LDF). Francis specializes in the study of American politics, race, and the development of constitutional law. Born and raised in Seattle, WA, she was educated at Garfield High School, Rice University in Houston, and Princeton University where she received her M.A. and her Ph.D. in Politics. She is particularly interested in the construction of rights and citizenship, black political activism, and the post-civil war South. Her research and commentary have been featured on MSNBC, BBC, Al-Jazeera, NPR, Democracy Now, PBS, Newsweek, the Washington Post, the Seattle Times, and TEDx Talks.