Erika D. Gault received her B.A. from New York University, M.A. from Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School, and Ph.D. from the American Studies Department at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Erika Gault’s scholarly work focuses on the intersection of religious history, technology, and urban black life in post-industrial America. On the topic of hip hop and religion she has delivered and published a number of papers regionally, nationally, and internationally.
Regarding Dr. Gault’s artistic work, she performs with the Buffalo based poetry slam team Njozi Poets. In 2011 and 2014 Erika Gault toured with North America's largest spoken word concert, When Sisters Speak. Gault is the 2012 1st Place Winner of the Toronto International Poetry Slam, the first woman to hold this honor. She placed 7th out of 60 spoken word poets across North America in the Ontario International Poetry Slam in November 2012. She is the 2013 Winner of the Empire State Poetry Slam. Erika is the co-convener of Western New York’s largest poetry slam competition, the Buffalo Niagara International Poetry Slam and the creator of WNY's largest Youth poetry slam, YBNIPS. In September of 2013 Erika Gault co-wrote and produced a play of poetry entitled, Ain’t She Brave, which received four stars in the Buffalo News. Ain’t She Brave has been produced in NYC as part of The New York International Fringe Festival and at the Black Theatre Troupe in Phoenix, AZ.
Regarding Dr. Gault’s artistic work, she performs with the Buffalo based poetry slam team Njozi Poets. In 2011 and 2014 Erika Gault toured with North America's largest spoken word concert, When Sisters Speak. Gault is the 2012 1st Place Winner of the Toronto International Poetry Slam, the first woman to hold this honor. She placed 7th out of 60 spoken word poets across North America in the Ontario International Poetry Slam in November 2012. She is the 2013 Winner of the Empire State Poetry Slam. Erika is the co-convener of Western New York’s largest poetry slam competition, the Buffalo Niagara International Poetry Slam and the creator of WNY's largest Youth poetry slam, YBNIPS. In September of 2013 Erika Gault co-wrote and produced a play of poetry entitled, Ain’t She Brave, which received four stars in the Buffalo News. Ain’t She Brave has been produced in NYC as part of The New York International Fringe Festival and at the Black Theatre Troupe in Phoenix, AZ.
In both her creative and scholarly work Dr. Gault seeks to deconstruct American history, social norms, and accepted biases in order to offer imaginative new possibilities. Her creative work is a meditation on the lived experiences of Africans in America, both now and historically. Erika Gault is jointly concerned with critiquing social injustices and constructing new paradigms for more meaningful social engagement.
Erika works with a number of arts education organizations each year to provide lectures and performances throughout the region. She is an ordained minister at Elim Christian Fellowship and an Assistant Professor of Africana Studies at the University of Arizona and a faculty affiliate in Religious Studies. She is currently working on her next book project under contract with NYU Press. The volume offers the first ethnography of digital technology, religion, and young adult Black faith.
