She earned her Ph.D. in History from New York University. Her research interests include political movements in the African Diaspora, comparative slavery, gender ideologies in the Caribbean, and Black feminist thought. Her book, Rethinking Rebellion in Cuba: La Escalera and the Insurgencies of 1841-1844, was published by the University of North Carolina Press. Her work has appeared in the Journal of Women’s History and the Journal of Historical Sociology. She has received fellowships from the Ford Foundation, the UC Humanities Network, and the Social Science research Council.