Student Profile: Courtney M. Echols

Dual degree you are pursuing: J.D., Ph.D. in Criminology, Law & Society

Expected graduation: 2023

Research interests/agenda: Race and Ethnicity, Historical Anti-Black Violence, Transitional Justice, Collective Memory, Culture, Social Movements, Policing

Courtney’s work, as both a community organizer and researcher, is rooted in two core principles: 1.) Once Black people get free, everybody gets free. 2.) to know the present, we must understand the history. Her research therefore centers on documenting historical anti-Black violence in the US and intervening in its legacies. For example, some of Courtney’s research examines the relationships between violent anti-Black histories and various contemporary measures of inequality and conflict as well as how transitional justice efforts relate to and impact these legacies.

Past Education:

2020 - M.A. Social Ecology, University of California, Irvine

Thesis: Anti-Blackness is the American Way: An Integrative Assessment of the Direct and Indirect Effects of Racially Violent Histories. (Readers: Geoff Ward (chair), Mona Lynch, & John Hipp)

2016 - B.A., Triple Major: Criminology, Law & Society; Psychology & Social Behavior; Social Ecology, University Of California, Irvine, Summa Cum Laude

Academic Experiences, Awards and Honors:

2020 - Outstanding Social Justice Activist Award. University of California, Irvine.
2020 - Social Ecology Mentoring award. School of Social Ecology. University of California, Irvine.
2020 - Summer Research Funding (2,800). University of California, Irvine.
2020 - Summer Research Assistantship (6,000). University of California, Irvine.
2020 - Associated Graduate Students Travel Grant. University of California, Irvine.
2019 - Professional Development Fellowship. School of Social Ecology. University of California, Irvine.
2019 - Peer Mentor Award. Department of Criminology, Law & Society. University of California, Irvine.
2019 - Associated Graduate Students Travel Grant. University of California, Irvine.
2018 - Research Support Grant ($5,000). University of California, Irvine.
2016-2018 - Nevin Graduate Endowment Fellowship ($10,000), University of California, Irvine.
2016-2017 - Summer Research Funding (6,000). University of California, Irvine.
2016 - Criminology, Law, & Society Fellowship ($5,000). Department of Criminology, Law & Society. University of California, Irvine.
2016 - Diversity Recruitment Fellowship ($5,000). University of California, Irvine.
2016 - Summa Cum Laude. School of Social Ecology. University of California, Irvine.
2016 - Immersive Field Study Award. School of Social Ecology. University of California, Irvine.
2016 - Social Ecology Honors Award. School of Social Ecology. University of California, Irvine.
2014 - Tau Sigma National Honor Society, University of California, Irvine.
2011 - Chancellor’s List, Louisiana State University, Shreveport.
2006-2007 - Accepting the Challenge of Excellence. Ark-La-Tex District. Bossier City, Louisiana.

Presentations, Publications, Speaking Engagements:

Manuscripts Under Review

Echols, C.M. ““Refined Slavery:” Routine Racial Violence, Black Mobility Policing, & Racialized Citizenship in 20^th Century Louisiana.”
Echols, C.M. “Anti-Blackness is the American Way: Assessing the Relationship Between Chattel Slavery, Lynchings, & Police Violence During the Civil Rights Movement.”

Manuscripts In Progress

Ward. G. & Echols, C.M. “Public Memorials, Collective Memory and Legacies of Racial Violence: A Case Study of the Frank Morris Murder in Ferriday Louisiana.”
Echols, C.M. “Histories of Anti-Black Violence & Contemporary Black Death in the Murder Capital of America.”
Echols, C.M. “Contemporary Incarceration: An Integrative Assessment of the Direct and Indirect Effects of Racially Violent Histories.”
Echols, C.M. “Assessing The Predictors Of Transitional Justice Efforts In A U.S. Southern State.”

Reports

“Abolish Carceral Technologies: The People’s Response.” 2019. Contributor. Report submitted to the Los Angeles Police Commission. Available online.
“The People’s Response to OIG Audit Data-Driven Policing.” 2019. Contributor. Report submitted to the Los Angeles Inspector General. Available online.
“Before the Bullet Hits The Body: Dismantling Predictive Policing in Los Angeles.” 2018. Contributor. Report submitted to the Los Angeles Inspector General. Available online.

Invited Presentations

Echols C.M. & Gill, N. 2019. Examining Histories of Resistance to Police Violence Through the Lens of the Community. American Monument Think Tank; Beall Center, University of California, Irvine.
Khan, H., Garcia, J., & Echols, C.M. 2019. Stop LAPD Spying: Data is always weaponized. Data for Black Lives Convening; University of California, Irvine.
Echols, C.M. 2018. (Panelist). Understanding Legacies of Historical Anti-Black Violence, Informing Transitional Justice Remedies. Social Justice Research Panel; California State University, Long Beach.
Echols, C.M. 2018. (Guest Lecturer). American Slavery & Transitional Justice. Course: Crime & Public Policy. University of California, Irvine.
Echols, C.M. 2017. (Guest Lecturer). Historical Representation and Transitional Justice. Course: Historical Representation in the Caribbean: Slavery, Whiteness, Colonization and Power. University of California, Los Angeles.

Academic Presentations

Echols, C.M. 2020. “Refined Slavery:” Routine Racial Violence, Black Mobility Policing, & Racialized Citizenship in 20th Century Louisiana. American Studies Association. Baltimore, MD.
Echols, C.M. 2020. Histories of Anti-Black Violence & Contemporary Black Death in the Murder Capital of America. Southern Sociology Society. Jacksonville, FA.
Echols, C.M. 2019. Assessing The Predictors Of Transitional Justice Efforts In A U.S. Southern State. Law & Society Annual Meeting. Washington D.C.
Echols, C.M. 2018. Examining The Role Of Civil Rights Era Police Violence. American Society of Criminology Annual Meeting. Atlanta, GA.
Echols, C.M. 2018. Legacies of Racial Violence: The Mediating Characteristics of Civil Rights Era Terror. Western Society of Criminology Conference. Long Beach, CA.
Bland, LaBreonna & Echols, C.M. 2018. Perceptions of Police Use of Drones Among Black Los Angeles Residents. Western Society of Criminology Conference. Long Beach, CA.
Echols, C.M. 2017. Public Memorials, Collective Memory, and Legacies of Racial Violence: A Case Study of the Frank Morris Murder in Ferriday, Louisiana. Presented at the American Society of Criminology Conference. Philadelphia, PA.
Echols, C.M. 2016. Do Remedial Efforts Reflect Histories of Racial Violence: A Case Study of Louisiana. 2016 Summer Graduate Research Symposium, University of California, Irvine.
Echols, C.M. 2016. Louisiana’s Legacies Of Historical Racial Violence. Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium, University of California, Irvine.

Community Presentations

Echols, C.M. 2018. Training for Trainers. FTP Studies: Special Series. Data & Displacement. Los Angeles, CA.
Echols, C.M. 2017. Situating Reparations In The Larger Context Of Transitional Justice.
Confronting Our Past & Creating A Better Future: A Public Workshop On Reparations For Black Folks In America, Los Angeles, CA.
Echols, C.M. 2017. The Reparations Movement in US History. Confronting Our Past & Creating A Better Future: A Public Workshop On Reparations For Black Folks In America, Los Angeles, CA.

Employment/Career Highlights (positions, internships, externships, clerkships):

2019-present - CLS Ethnography Lab Member. Department of Criminology, Law & Society, University of California, Irvine.
2019-present - Research Assistant, Dr. Kirk Williams. Poverty Stoplight Program Evaluation. University of California, Irvine.
2019-present - Research Assistant, Dr. Kirk Williams. Cure Violence Prevention Program Evaluation. University of California, Irvine.
2016 - Competitive Edge Summer Research Program. University of California, Irvine.
2015-2016 - Social Ecology Honors Research Program. Department of Criminology, Law & Society; University of California, Irvine.
2014-2016 - Research Assistant, Dr. Geoff Ward. Legacies of Racial Violence Project.
Department of Criminology, Law & Society; University of California, Irvine.
2016 -Research Assistant, Dr. Michael Gottfredson. Department of Criminology, Law & Society; University of California, Irvine.
2015 - Intern, William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation, Oxford, Mississippi
Aided community coordinators in preparing and presenting the Welcome Table to communities in Mississippi and Louisiana; Conducted archival research and summarized findings to assist in the development of the Mississippi Civil Rights Project; Facilitated in the organization of a commemorative event for the 1940 lynching of Elbert Williams; Collaborated with members of various communities to formulate strategies that seek to address and overcome racial disparities within their areas; Coordinated with other students to develop and implement events to facilitate community organizing
2015 - Fellow, Blum Center for Global Engagement, University of California, Irvine
Collected data on remedial efforts in Louisiana and Mississippi ranging from streets named after civil rights activists to truth and reconciliation commissions and assembled the information into Dr. Ward’s Official Race Reparative Efforts Database. The experience culminated with “Public Memorials, Collective Memory, and Legacies of Racial Violence: A Case Study of the Frank Morris Murder in Ferriday, LA,” a sole-authored analytical paper that probes the legacies of Morris’ racially motivated murder in Ferriday, and how a memorial in his honor would facilitate a reckoning with the city’s racially violent past.

Personal Website >

Student Profile: Courtney M. Echols

Related