This is My Story
Africa is my home. America is my country. Goldsboro, NC is my native city. I am a citizen of the world.
Official Biography
Marcus Croom, Ph.D. is a native of Goldsboro, NC where he graduated from Goldsboro High School in 1995. Because of an innovative opportunity called The Young Men of Distinction Showcase, which was organized by Darryl Woodard, founder of Wayne County Youth Outreach (later called Smart Choices for Youth), he won a four-year chancellor’s scholarship to Elizabeth City State University (ECSU). He attended ECSU for one year as a Music Education major. After completing his freshman year, he transferred to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCA&T) where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Music Education in 2001, graduating with a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA). As he was nearing graduation, he also earned K-12 certification from the state of North Carolina in Music Education.
In January 2006, Dr. Croom began Divinity School at Shaw University. While studying as a graduate student, in the summer of 2008, he traveled the country of Ghana, in West Africa, and also visited Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in East Africa to experience African religion and African culture as an African American. Upon his return, he wrote an insightful paper about his experience titled Two Tales and a Story: My Encounter with Africa and African Religions. He earned his Master of Divinity from Shaw University Divinity School in 2009 with a 3.93 GPA.
Seeking to refine his giftedness in education and in leadership, and thereby become positioned to "do more for more students," Dr. Croom began his Master of School Administration at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) in the fall of 2009. In May of 2011, Dr. Croom completed his Master of School Administration at NCCU, graduating with the distinction of Magna Cum Laude and administrator licensure.
Dr. Croom is proud to have been raised in the Christian tradition of the United Holy Church of America, Inc. He grew up in New First Corinthian United Holy Church, Dudley NC, where his grandmother, Reverend Katherine Wells, was his pastor, and where his mother, Minister Rosalind Croom, assisted his grandmother in the pastorate in every possible way. Having the privilege to witness such outstanding models of Christian service and Christian commitment by two single mothers is immeasurable in importance to Marcus and has made an indelible mark on his life. From 2009 to 2011, Dr. Croom lead the Men’s Fellowship and the Social and Political Concerns Ministry, while serving as an associate minister at Fisher Memorial United Holy Church, Durham NC, where Bishop Elroy Lewis is pastor emeritus. Currently, the Crooms are members at Trinity United Church of Christ, where Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, III is senior pastor.
As an educator, Dr. Croom teaches in various fields. But his Music Education experience ranges from being a high school Band Director, a middle school Band Director, and an elementary school Music Teacher. He has practiced teaching at the full range of his K-12 Music certification.
Beyond his classroom at Eno Valley Elementary School, where he taught full-time from 2006 to 2011, and the annual yearlong music performances of his Kindergarten-Fifth Grade (K-5) students, Dr. Croom completed his Principal Internship in the 2010-2011 school year at Eno Valley in Durham, NC, where he also served Durham Public Schools as a Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) Coach. Further, Dr. Croom was also deeply committed to nurturing the literacies and identities of the African American boys at Eno Valley and did so in various ways throughout his tenure there.
In the 2010-2011 school year, with the cooperation of the administration and the faculty of Eno Valley Elementary, he created, designed, and directed a scalable intervention experience to help fourth grade, African American males called Being Black Boys. The implementation of Being Black Boys was made possible through grant funding secured by the Durham Association of Educators (DAE) from the National Education Association’s Closing the Achievement Gaps Initiative. Implementation of Being Black Boys began in November 2010 and the qualitative and quantitative data of this original intervention experience was announced in the spring of 2011 at the NCDPI Collaborative Conference on Student Achievement. As expected, Being Black Boys demonstrated efficacy with improving the school and family outcomes of its 19 participants. During the 2011-2012 school year, Being Black Boys expanded to serve black boys in the fourth and fifth grades at Eno Valley and has continued under the leadership of NaShonda Cooke ever since. When asked about what he envisioned for the future of Being Black Boys in 2011, Dr. Croom stated, “I would love to see Being Black Boys replicated across Durham Public Schools at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels in the coming years.”
Dr. Croom continued his graduate studies and earned his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction through the Literacy, Language, and Culture program at The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in 2018. Dr. Alfred Tatum, renowned scholar of African American male literacy, was his advisor. While completing his doctoral studies at UIC, Dr. Croom designed and coordinated the UIC College of Education Pre-college Leadership & Impact Program and the Next Generation of African American Male Professors program under the direction of Dr. Tatum, dean of the College of Education. He has also served on two university search committees, has volunteered at Smyth Elementary School (Chicago), and worked as a research assistant. Dr. Croom also joined The Fellowship Initiative-Chicago, a Saturday program of JPMorgan Chase & Co., as the literacy teacher. More recently, he was named as a fellow of the 2016-2018 cohort of Cultivating New Voices among Scholars of Color (CNV), a program of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Dr. Croom is also the doctoral recipient of the 2018 Dean's Merit Award from the faculty of the UIC College of Education. Where his race critical literacy research agenda is concerned, Dr. Croom examines the role of social identities and social identifications in the instructional practice of American schooling. He offers his research and experience to support schools, businesses, and communities that are developing racial literacies.
Marcus is married to Marella, his lovely wife of over 20 years, and they have two remarkable young children. For Marcus, his most cherished work is that of being a dad.
Marcus understands ministry as being far more than a church designation; ministry is a living practice of service.
Official Biography
Marcus Croom, Ph.D. is a native of Goldsboro, NC where he graduated from Goldsboro High School in 1995. Because of an innovative opportunity called The Young Men of Distinction Showcase, which was organized by Darryl Woodard, founder of Wayne County Youth Outreach (later called Smart Choices for Youth), he won a four-year chancellor’s scholarship to Elizabeth City State University (ECSU). He attended ECSU for one year as a Music Education major. After completing his freshman year, he transferred to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NCA&T) where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Music Education in 2001, graduating with a 3.0 Grade Point Average (GPA). As he was nearing graduation, he also earned K-12 certification from the state of North Carolina in Music Education.
In January 2006, Dr. Croom began Divinity School at Shaw University. While studying as a graduate student, in the summer of 2008, he traveled the country of Ghana, in West Africa, and also visited Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in East Africa to experience African religion and African culture as an African American. Upon his return, he wrote an insightful paper about his experience titled Two Tales and a Story: My Encounter with Africa and African Religions. He earned his Master of Divinity from Shaw University Divinity School in 2009 with a 3.93 GPA.
Seeking to refine his giftedness in education and in leadership, and thereby become positioned to "do more for more students," Dr. Croom began his Master of School Administration at North Carolina Central University (NCCU) in the fall of 2009. In May of 2011, Dr. Croom completed his Master of School Administration at NCCU, graduating with the distinction of Magna Cum Laude and administrator licensure.
Dr. Croom is proud to have been raised in the Christian tradition of the United Holy Church of America, Inc. He grew up in New First Corinthian United Holy Church, Dudley NC, where his grandmother, Reverend Katherine Wells, was his pastor, and where his mother, Minister Rosalind Croom, assisted his grandmother in the pastorate in every possible way. Having the privilege to witness such outstanding models of Christian service and Christian commitment by two single mothers is immeasurable in importance to Marcus and has made an indelible mark on his life. From 2009 to 2011, Dr. Croom lead the Men’s Fellowship and the Social and Political Concerns Ministry, while serving as an associate minister at Fisher Memorial United Holy Church, Durham NC, where Bishop Elroy Lewis is pastor emeritus. Currently, the Crooms are members at Trinity United Church of Christ, where Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, III is senior pastor.
As an educator, Dr. Croom teaches in various fields. But his Music Education experience ranges from being a high school Band Director, a middle school Band Director, and an elementary school Music Teacher. He has practiced teaching at the full range of his K-12 Music certification.
Beyond his classroom at Eno Valley Elementary School, where he taught full-time from 2006 to 2011, and the annual yearlong music performances of his Kindergarten-Fifth Grade (K-5) students, Dr. Croom completed his Principal Internship in the 2010-2011 school year at Eno Valley in Durham, NC, where he also served Durham Public Schools as a Positive Behavior Intervention and Support (PBIS) Coach. Further, Dr. Croom was also deeply committed to nurturing the literacies and identities of the African American boys at Eno Valley and did so in various ways throughout his tenure there.
In the 2010-2011 school year, with the cooperation of the administration and the faculty of Eno Valley Elementary, he created, designed, and directed a scalable intervention experience to help fourth grade, African American males called Being Black Boys. The implementation of Being Black Boys was made possible through grant funding secured by the Durham Association of Educators (DAE) from the National Education Association’s Closing the Achievement Gaps Initiative. Implementation of Being Black Boys began in November 2010 and the qualitative and quantitative data of this original intervention experience was announced in the spring of 2011 at the NCDPI Collaborative Conference on Student Achievement. As expected, Being Black Boys demonstrated efficacy with improving the school and family outcomes of its 19 participants. During the 2011-2012 school year, Being Black Boys expanded to serve black boys in the fourth and fifth grades at Eno Valley and has continued under the leadership of NaShonda Cooke ever since. When asked about what he envisioned for the future of Being Black Boys in 2011, Dr. Croom stated, “I would love to see Being Black Boys replicated across Durham Public Schools at the elementary, middle school, and high school levels in the coming years.”
Dr. Croom continued his graduate studies and earned his Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction through the Literacy, Language, and Culture program at The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) in 2018. Dr. Alfred Tatum, renowned scholar of African American male literacy, was his advisor. While completing his doctoral studies at UIC, Dr. Croom designed and coordinated the UIC College of Education Pre-college Leadership & Impact Program and the Next Generation of African American Male Professors program under the direction of Dr. Tatum, dean of the College of Education. He has also served on two university search committees, has volunteered at Smyth Elementary School (Chicago), and worked as a research assistant. Dr. Croom also joined The Fellowship Initiative-Chicago, a Saturday program of JPMorgan Chase & Co., as the literacy teacher. More recently, he was named as a fellow of the 2016-2018 cohort of Cultivating New Voices among Scholars of Color (CNV), a program of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE). Dr. Croom is also the doctoral recipient of the 2018 Dean's Merit Award from the faculty of the UIC College of Education. Where his race critical literacy research agenda is concerned, Dr. Croom examines the role of social identities and social identifications in the instructional practice of American schooling. He offers his research and experience to support schools, businesses, and communities that are developing racial literacies.
Marcus is married to Marella, his lovely wife of over 20 years, and they have two remarkable young children. For Marcus, his most cherished work is that of being a dad.
Marcus understands ministry as being far more than a church designation; ministry is a living practice of service.
