Eddie S. Glaude Jr., Ph.D.

One of the nation’s most prominent scholars, Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., Ph.D. is an author, political commentator, public intellectual, and passionate educator who examines the complex dynamics of the American experience. He is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, and the former president of the American Academy of Religion, the largest professional organization of scholars of religion in the world.

Dr. Glaude’s writings, including Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul; In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America; and the New York Times bestseller Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for our Own, take a wide look at Black communities, the difficulties of race in the United States, and the challenges we face as a democracy.

Dr. Glaude’s 2024 book, We Are the Leaders We Have Been Looking For, is based on the W.E.B. Du Bois Lectures he delivered at Harvard University in 2011. The Du Bois Lectures recognize persons of outstanding achievement who have contributed to our better understanding of African American life, history, and culture. In the book, Dr. Glaude shows how ordinary Black Americans can shake off their reliance on a small group of professional politicians and pursue self-cultivation and grassroots movements to achieve a more just and perfect democracy.

Dr. Glaude hails from Moss Point, Mississippi, a small town on the Gulf Coast, and is a graduate of Morehouse College. He holds a master’s degree in African American Studies from Temple University, and a Ph.D. in Religion from Princeton University.