Noliwe M. Rooks is an associate professor and interim director of graduate studies in Cornell University’s Africana Studies department. An interdisciplinary scholar, she works on the racial implications of beauty, fashion, and adornment; racial inequality in education; race, migration, and urbanization; and Black women's studies. She has received grants from the Ford Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson Educational Research Fund, and the Mellon Foundation. The author of three books, including White Money/Black Power, she is currently working on a project that looks at the role of racial segregation in the dismantling of public education in the United States.