The ultimate goal of my research is to “freedom dream” (Kelley, 2002) with Black children and their families, and then use that brilliance to guide the development of new research, policies, practices, and narratives.
My current research agenda focuses on:
(1) Investigating the experiences of Black girls and women in educational spaces, and how “ordinary magic” (Murry et al., 2018) serves as sources of affirmation and support for identity development,
and
2) Understanding how the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing racial injustices influence the
development of Black youth, with a particular emphasis on the positive family processes that
contribute to children’s learning and development throughout the pandemic.
ORCiD: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4801-5311
PUBLICATIONS
Manuscripts Published in Refereed Journals--International/National
- Mims, L. C., Rubenstein, L. & Thomas, J.* (2022). Black Brilliance and Creative Problem Solving in Fugitive Spaces: Advancing the BlackCreate Framework through a Systematic Review. Review of Research in Education, 46(1), 134-165. https://doi.org/10.3102/0091732X221084331
- Leath, S., Mims, L., Evans, K. A.*, Parker, T.*, & Billingsley, J. T.* (2022). “I Can be Unapologetically Who I Am”: A Study of Friendship Among Black Undergraduate Women at PWIs. Emerging Adulthood. https://doi.org/10.1177/21676968211066156
- Leath, S., Ball, P.,* Mims, L.C., Butler-Barnes, S, & Quiles, T.* (in press, Journal of Black Psychology) "They need to hear our voices”: A multidimensional framework of Black college women’s sociopolitical development and activism."
- Mayes, R. D. Lowery, K., Mims, L. C., & Rodman, J.* (in press, High School Journal). “I stayed just above the cusp so I was left alone”: Black Girls Experiences with School Counselors.
- Leath, S., Ball, P.,* Mims, L.C., Butler-Barnes, S, & Quiles, T.* (in press, Journal of Black Psychology) "They need to hear our voices”: A multidimensional framework of Black college women’s sociopolitical development and activism.
- Leath, S., & Mims, L.C. (2021). A qualitative exploration of Black women’s familial socialization on controlling images of Black womanhood and the internalization of respectability politics. Journal of Family Studies, 1-18.
- Mims, L. C., Duane, A.* & Kaler-Jones, C.* (2021). Good Trouble, Necessary Trouble: A Call to Cultivate Identity Affirming Spaces for Black Children. Perspectives on Early Childhood Psychology and Education, 6 (1), 279-299.
- Duane, A.M.*, Casimir, A.E.*, Mims, L.C., Kaler-Jones, C.* & Simmons, D. (2021). Beyond deep breathing: A new vision for equitable, culturally responsive, and trauma-informed mindfulness practice. Middle School Journal, 52(3), 4-14.
- Williams, J. L., Johnson, H. E., Mims, L. C., Dickerson, K. C., Negrete, A., & Seward, M (2020). From Apathy to Vigilance: Young Adolescents’ Reactions to the Unite the Right Rally in Charlottesville. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 31(1), 218-239.
- Naegeli Costa, C.*, & Mims, L. C. (2020). Using Notecard Check-Ins to Build Relationships and Establish a Climate of Care. College Teaching, 69(1), 32-33.
- Mims, L. C., & Whitefield, B. L.* (2020). Having Fun Isn’t Hard: A Quick Fix Designed to Promote Independent Reading. College Teaching, 68(4), 172-175.
- Mims, L. C., & Williams, J. L. (2020). “They Told Me What I Was Before I Could Tell Them What I Was”: Black Girls’ Ethnic-Racial Identity Development Within Multiple Worlds. Journal of Adolescent Research, 35(6), 754-779.
- Mims, L. C., & Kaler-Jones, C.* (2020). Running, running the show: Supporting the leadership development of Black girls in middle school. Middle School Journal, 51(2), 16-24.
- Elliott, M. C., Shuey, E. A., Zaika, N., Mims, L. C., & Leventhal, T. (2017). Finding home: A qualitative approach to understanding adolescent mothers’ housing instability. American Journal of Community Psychology, 60(1-2), 55-65.
Book Chapters
Mims, L. C., Kaler-Jones, C.*, Amoako Kayser, A. & Johns, D.* (in press, 2021). “I feel like this school is changing the best parts of who she is”: Reflections from Black Educators on their Experiences Developing Growth-Promoting Environments for Black Girls during Early Childhood. To be published in African American Female Students in PreK-12 Schools and Beyond: Informing Research, Policy, and Practice.
Afterword/ Foreword to Books
Mims, Lauren. (2021) Dear Brilliant Black Girls. Foreword to, Finding Her Voice: Black Girls In Predominantly White Spaces. New Harbinger Publications. (Link)
Essays
Mims, Lauren. (in press, 2021) Nurturing Leagues of Extraordinary Black Girls. Essay in The Black Agenda: Bold Solutions for a Broken System, Macmillan Publishers (Link)
Articles in Non-refereed Journals
- Nash, A, Mims, L. C., Kayser, A., Dickerson, K. & Kaler-Jones, C. (2019) Researching the Hidden: Privileging and Coalescing Black Women and Girls' Experience in Educational Contexts. Research on Women and Education Conference Proceedings. Spring 2019 Volume 5, Issue 1.
- Mims, L. C., Peifer, J. S., Foster, J., Williams, J., Campbell, R., Lee, E., & Lawrence, E. C. (2012). “Who are my Sisters?” The YWLP Global Connections Project. Jefferson Public Citizens Journal