Dr. Martez Files is an Assistant Professor of Black Studies in Teacher Education at the University of Pittsburgh. His previous experiences include teaching high school history and social studies, serving as an adjunct professor of African American studies, and the Diversity Enhancement Program fellow at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). Recently, he completed an appointment as a Graduation Coach for a $60-million grant, GEAR UP Alabama, which worked to remove barriers to higher education for rural youth in Alabama. Before coming to Pitt, he was the Program Coordinator for African American Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at UAB.
Dr. Files has a Ph.D. in Educational Studies in Diverse Populations with a concentration in Metropolitan Education Studies from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. His dissertation "Mothering Ourselves to Wholeness'' is a project that uncovers the myriad ways Black mothers in life and literature have forged communal wholeness, protected the most vulnerable, and healed harm outside and within communities. He holds a M.A.T. in His/SS with an emphasis on social justice from Brown University, and graduated cum laude from UAB, where he earned a B.A. in African-American Studies and B.A. in History. He is a prominent activist and organizer in Alabama, whose work focuses on mental health, politics, education, communal care, and police accountability.