Ebony Tyree, English and humanities professor at San Diego City College is using her platform to amplify the voices of the Black student experience.

Tyree was raised in Pasadena, California, where she earned a full-ride scholarship during high school to the University of San Diego (USD). She entered USD as a psychology major with a goal to work in marriage and family therapy, and later changed her degree to English and literature.

“My academic journey was not linear and even after graduation it took a long time to discover what I really wanted to do along with how to get there,” she said. While on summer breaks from USD, Tyree went back home to Pasadena to take math and science courses at the local community college.

Tyree holds a bachelor's degree in English literature from USD and a master’s degree in English literature from San Diego State University (SDSU). Prior to arriving at City College as a professor, Tyree worked at an insurance company, and served ten years as a Senior Student Services Assistant at San Diego Mesa College.

“I always knew I wanted to teach, I just needed to get my foot in the door,” said Tyree. “I would walk the halls during the evening at Mesa College to see classes in session and think to myself, that is going to be me instructing someday.” She began teaching English in 2010 for San Diego Mesa College, Grossmont College, and MiraCosta College.

In 2017, Tyree achieved her career goal of becoming a full-time professor at City College, and in 2019 became a Lecturer in the African Studies department at SDSU.

Inside her English 101 classroom at City College, Tyree’s students are examining literature told through a Black woman’s perspective and are learning the disparities in Black education and health, while her English 205 students are reading bell hooks’ Teaching to Transgress, a book about pushing against the boundaries, to challenge racism, sexism, classism and all forms of oppression in the world.

“Teaching and learning is about genuine and meaningful exchanges,” said Tyree. “I relate to my students. I see them in me, and I see myself in them. They should feel comfortable making mistakes in my classroom and not like they are wrong for thinking in a different way or having an authentic dialogue.”

In addition to giving transformative lectures, Tyree brings the full college experience to her scholars. She regularly hosts Student Services presenters from the departments of financial aid, academic counseling and mental health. “It is a very colonized education system from the top down. I want to dismantle and decolonize; I want my students to learn the system to be successful. They already overcame so much to be here.”

During the 15th Annual A2MEND Summit in March 2022, Tyree alongside her colleagues from Mesa and City colleges presented #UnapologeticallyBlackWoman, a critique on negative stereotypes experienced by Black women and a discussion on how the reframing of these stereotypes can be used as a powerful force to liberate and enact change.

From paving the way into higher education to supporting extracurriculars as the Umoja Program Leadership Advisor, Tyree is City proud. “I love City College for the students, they have resiliency and a different respect for education,” she said. “The demographics on campus are so rich, most students face barriers and they enroll here to better themselves.”

Photo: Ebony Tyree, center, with Umoja graduates Jazmariyah Frye and Shayla Smith at San Diego City College’s 2019 Black Graduation ceremony.