Black Feminist Sociologist
BIOGRAPHY
Dr. Carolette Norwood (she, her, hers) is a native of south Louisiana but have lived and travelled the world. She is Professor of Sociology and Criminology at Howard University. Dr. Norwood is a Black Feminist Sociologist whose research explores the implications of violence (structural, spatial, and interpersonal) at the intersections of race, gender, sexuality, and space on reproductive and sexual health injustice for Black women.
RESEARCH AREAS OF
SPECIALIZATION
REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE AND
SEXUAL HEALTH
AFRICANA / TRANSNATIONAL BLACK FEMINISM(S)
INTERSECTIONAL SPATIALITIES (RACE, GENDER, SEXUALITY, POVERTY, SPACE, PLACE & HEALTH INJUSTICE)
FEMINIST MIXED RESEARCH METHODS
GENDERED RACISM AND
GENDERED VIOLENCE
BLACK WOMEN AND ECONOMIC MOBILITY
REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE AND
SEXUAL HEALTH
INTERSECTIONAL SPATIALITIES (RACE, GENDER, SEXUALITY, POVERTY, SPACE, PLACE & HEALTH INJUSTICE)
GENDERED RACISM AND
GENDERED VIOLENCE
AFRICANA / TRANSNATIONAL BLACK FEMINISM(S)
FEMINIST MIXED RESEARCH METHODS
BLACK WOMEN AND ECONOMIC MOBILITY
IN THE MEDIA
Building Community Through Words
Carolette Norwood reflects on how a new writers’ group in the Black Lives in the Diaspora: Past / Present / Future series builds solidarity and community through shared writing.
Urban Institute | About Carolette
Carolette Norwood — Black feminist sociologist whose work with Urban Institute spotlights intersectional violence, reproductive justice, and economic mobility for Black women.
Alumna Spotlight: Carolette Norwood
Alumna Carolette Norwood is profiled after being named President of the DC Sociological Society — spotlighting her research on race, gender, and reproductive justice.
DCSS Leadership Transitions for 2025-2026
DCSS welcomes Dr. Carolette Norwood of Howard University as the new president of DCSS as of July 1, 2025. She extends a welcome to all DCSS members and supporters.
PUBLISHED WORKS
Norwood, C. 2024. “And Still They Rise: The Kinks of Our Hair African Diasporic Contexts”in The Black Feminist Theories Handbook: Transnational Approaches, eds. Carole Boyce-Davies, Janell Hobson, Mshaï Mwangola, Angelique V. Nixon, and Christen A. Smith. Bloomsbury Publishing Inc., New York City, NY, Forthcoming.
Norwood, C. 2024. "Forced to Birth: A Case Study of Ohio's 6-Week Abortion Ban, its Impact on Black Women in Cincinnati and its Relevance for Reproductive Justice in Ohio and Beyond." Health Matrix: Journal of Law-Medicine, Volume 34.
Norwood, C. and Carr, T., 2024. "More than Abortion: Why Reproductive Justice Matters in Cincinnati Post-Roe." Journal of Women, Politics & Policy, 45 (1), https://doi.org/10.1080/1554477X.2024.2300096.
Smith, MH., McGowan, M., Chakraborty, P., Hood, RB., Field, MP., Bessett, D., Norwood, C., Norris, AH. 2023. "Kentucky's Abortion Landscape, 2010 to 2019: An Analysis of Pre-Dobbs Abortion Disparities in a Rural, Restrictive State." Lancet Reg Health Am. 19:100441. doi: 10.1016/j.lana.2023.100441. PMID: 36852333; PMCID: PMC9958464.
Niven, David; Combs, Barbara; Norwood, Carolette; Rossiter, Kayln; and Michael Solimine. 2022. “The Boundaries of Confusion Racial Disparities in State House and Congressional District Line Congruity.” Social Science Quarterly, Vol. 21, Issue 2. https://doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.13213
Norwood, C.; Jacquez, F.; Carr, T.; Murawsky, S.; Beck, K.; Tuttle, A. 2022. "Reproductive Justice, Public Black Feminism in Practice: A Reflection on Community-Based Participatory Research in Cincinnati." Societies 12(1):17. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc12010017.
Norwood, C. 2022. “New Directions in Black Feminist Sociology: The Politic of Space at the Intersection of Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality.” In Zakiya Luna and Whitney Pirtle (eds) Black Feminist Sociology: Perspectives and Praxis (Routledge Press).
Norwood, C. 2021. “Misrepresenting Reproductive Justice: A Black Feminist Critique of the ‘Protecting Black Life.’” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 46(3). ***Received editor’s choice nomination for Distinguished Article Award in the American Sociological Association’s Section on the Sociology of Sex and Gender.
Norris, A.; Chakraborty, P.; Lang, K.; Hood, R.; Hayford, S.; Keder, L.; Bessett, D.; Broscoe, M.; Norwood, C.; McGowan, M. 2020. "The Abortion Access in Ohio’s Changing Legislative Context." American Journal of Public Health, 110(8):1228-1234.
Jones, HJ.; Norwood, CR.; Bankston, K.; Bakas, T. 2019. “Developing a Framework for a Stress Reduction Wellness Intervention Targeted to Midlife Black Women.” Journal of Cardiovascular Nursing, 35(6): 483-490.
Jones, HJ.; Norwood, CR.; Bankston, K. 2019. “Leveraging Community Engagement to Develop Culturally Tailored Stress Management Interventions in Midlife Black Women.” Journal Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services, 57(3): 32-38.
Norwood, C. 2018. “Mapping Intersections of Violence on Black Women’s Sexual Health within the Jim Crow Geographies of Cincinnati Neighborhoods.” Frontiers: A Journal of Women’s Studies, 39(2): 97-135.
Norwood, C. 2018. “Decolonizing My Hair, Unshackling My Curls: An Autoethnography of What Makes My Natural Hair Journey a Black Feminist Statement.” International Feminist Journal of Politics, 20(1): 69-84.
Norwood, C.; Zhang, Y. 2015. “Condom Attitudes and Use among African American College Women Students.” Journal of Black Sexuality and Relationships, 2(1): 83-99.
Awad, G.; Norwood, C.; Taylor, D.; Martinez, M.; McClain, S.; Jones, B.; Holman, A.; Chapman-Hilliard, C. 2015. “Body Image Concerns Among African American College Women.” Journal of Black Psychology, 41(6): 540-564.
Norwood, C. 2014. "Where the Women at? A Sociological Discussion of Haggai from a Feminist Perspective.” In Stacy Davis’ Haggai and Malachi with Liturgical Press.
Norwood, C. 2014. “Microcredit and Women’s Empowerment in Rural Ghana.” Journal International and Development Studies, 4, 128-58.
Norwood, C. 2013. “Perspectives in Africana Feminism.” Sociology Compass, 7(3): 225-236.
Norwood, C. 2011. “Factors that Influence HIV Testing among Non-Marginalized African American Women.” American Journal of Health Studies, 26(4): 208-216.Norwood, C. 2011. “Women, Microcredit and Family Planning Practices: A Case Study from Rural Ghana.” Journal of Asian and African Studies, 46(2): 169-183.
Norwood, C. 2009. “Rethinking the Integration of Women in Population Development Initiatives.” Journal of Development in Practice, 19(7): 906-911.
Norwood, C. 2005. “Macro Promises of Microcredit- A Case of a Local eSusu in Rural Ghana.” Journal of International Women’s Studies, 7(1): 1-7.
Norwood, Carolette. 2023. Black Women’s Economic Mobility in Cincinnati Urbane Space. Urban Institute.
Norwood, Carolette 2022. The Influence of Gendered Racism and Understanding Economic Fragilities for Black women in the Cincinnati Region, www.gcfdn.org
Norwood, Carolette. 2022. "Angry but Not Defeated: A Black Feminist Commentary on the Overturn of Roe (Invited)." American Sociological Association, Sex and Gender Newsletter, July 2022
Norwood, Carolette 2021. Black Women’s Economic Mobility in Cincinnati,
www.gcfdn.org
Norwood, Carolette. 2017. Why microcredit Borrowing projects are – at best – a limited response to poverty and women’s inequality,Norwood, C. “Jim Crow Geography: Mapping the intersection of poverty, gender, race, and sexuality in urban space,” Monograph (under Contract with Columbia University Press).
CONTACT
