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  • Portia Allen-Kyle
  • Portia Allen-Kyle is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Sociology. Her research explores race at the intersections of law and sociology, with a particular interest in policing, deadly force, social control, racial threat, and experiences of law. Her dissertation examines Supreme Court opinions on deadly force to examine how the court legitimates both the institution of policing and deadly force, while balancing their own objectivity and legitimacy. Outside of academia, Portia is a civil rights attorney fighting for racially equitably public policy, at the local, state, and national levels. Portia earned a B.A. from Wellesley College, M.A. from Columbia University, M.A. in Sociology from Rutgers University, and a J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law-Newark.