[4][5][6][7] Roberts is a former faculty member at New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study, where his course "Black Lives Matter: Race, Resistance, and Populist Protest"[8] received national attention for being one of the first such courses offered on a university campus.

[9] He has been a frequent media commentator on issues related to the intersections of race and gender in American public life.

[10][11][12][13][14][15] A community organizer and public speaker, Roberts's varied perspectives on #BlackLivesMatter's influence on public debates about race and racial inequity have been cited by The New York Times, BBC Radio, NBC, CBC, Univision, The Chronicle of Higher Education and a variety of national outlets.

[16][17][18][19] Roberts is also the founder and executive director of For Freedom's Sake, a New York City based grassroots social justice organization that mobilizes black and brown communities through teach-ins and public dialogues.

[23] He also attended graduate school at NYU as a Ford Foundation Doctoral Dissertation Fellow and Yale University.