Francis holds a Ph.D. in United States and African American History, an M.A. in U.S. and World History, and a B.F.A. in Painting and Illustration. Her unpublished book manuscript, Jane Crow (In)Justice: Race, Crime, and Punishment in New York State, 1893–1916, analyzes the intersections of gender, race and class by exploring crime and punishment, labor and community, through the lens of black women’s experiences while offering comparisons with imprisoned U.S. born and European immigrant white women. As a Rutgers graduate student, she was a volunteer instructor at Mountainvew Youth Correctional Facility for Men in New Jersey. When she is not teaching, researching or writing, she enjoys spending time with her life partner, Jenny, and their 3-year-old twins, Rustin and Langston.