Chryl Laird is an Associate Professor of Government and Politics at the University of Maryland College Park. She has previously held positions in Political Science at Saint Louis University and Bowdoin College. She received her PhD and MA from The Ohio State University and BAs in African American Studies and Government and Politics from the University of Maryland College Park. Laird is an alumna of the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program and the Ralph Bunche Summer Institute.  Her work in American Politics focuses on Race and Ethnic Politics and Political Psychology. Laird’s research examines the importance of black political discourse in black opinion formation and racial group norms. Her highly acclaimed book, Steadfast Democrats: How Social Forces Shape Black Political Behavior (co-author Ismail White) examines how black partisanship to the Democratic party is maintained through black social networks and political norms. Her next research project engages the interwoven nature of racial and gender identities for Black women and how it results in a political engagement (and partisanship) where the work of their gender politics is conducted through their racial politics. Her scholarship can be found in numerous journals in political science including American Political Science Review, Journal of Politics (forthcoming), Politics, Groups, and Identities, and American Politics Research.