Crystal is a proud graduate of the class of 2008 and 2010 of Miles College. She also holds a Masters in English Language Arts Education from Alabama State University, Masters in Educational Leadership and an Education Specialist degree from Troy University. Crystal is a 17 year educator who runs the social media platform Melanatedreader promoting Black literacy and advocating for Black authors with an audience of over 26,000 followers.

Crystal has written for Glamour Magazine, Penguin Random House, Shereads magazine and more. She has been featured in a variety of media including Country Living Magazine, Buzzfeed News, Riveted by Simon Teen, and Penguin Teen just to name a few. She hopes to make an imprint advocating for Black Voices in literature and increase literacy awareness as she continues to pursue a doctoral degree from St. John's University in Literacy and at-risk youth.