Antonio Byrd

Associate Professor of English, University of Missouri-Kansas City

Antonio Byrd is Associate Professor of English at the University of Missouri Kansas City, where he teaches courses in professional and technical communication, multimodal composition, composition pedagogy, qualitative research methods, and Black digital rhetorics. His research focuses on how the legacies of using literacy for liberation carry forward into present day Black digital literacies and media features. From 2023 - 2025, he served on the MLA-CCCC Joint Task Force on Writing and AI, which was charged to create community for members to share resources and create resources that synthesizes, set professional standards, and make recommendations/provide guidance to members on generative artificial intelligence. He currently serve as co-chair of the MLA Task Force on Generative AI Initiatives and is a member of the CCCC Special Committe on Generative Artificial Intelligence. Through his national service, Antonio has given presentations and led workshops at a variety of institutions on linguistic justice and artificial intelligence across the country. At his institution Antonio serves as faculty fellow for UMKC Center for Advancing Faculty Excellence (CAFE) developing professional learning workshops for faculty based on his researching students' uses and beliefs about GenAI. Antonio recently published his book Black Tech Ecosystems: How Black Adult Learners Use Computer Code Bootcamps for Liberation with The WAC Clearinghouse.

 

Areas of Expertise

  • Linguistic Justice and Generative Artificial Intelligence
  • Alternative writing Assessment
  • Qualitative Research Methods,
  • Coding Literacy
  • Black Digital Literacies
  • Composition Pedagogy
  • Technical and Professional Communication