Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., Ph.D.

One of the nation’s most prominent scholars, Eddie S. Glaude, Jr., Ph.D. (FAN ’20, ’24), is a passionate educator, author, political commentator, and public intellectual 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, a program he first became involved with shaping as a doctoral candidate in Religion at Princeton. He served as the inaugural chair of the department for more than fourteen years and is also on the Morehouse College Board of Trustees.

He frequently appears in the media, as a columnist for TIME Magazine and as an MSNBC contributor on programs like Morning Joe and Deadline White House with Nicolle Wallace. He also regularly appears on Meet the Press on Sundays.

His 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 an exhaustive look at Black communities, the difficulties of race in the United States, and the challenges we face as a democracy. His 2024 book, We Are the Leaders We Have Been Looking For, is a politically astute, lyrical meditation on how ordinary people can shake off their reliance on a small group of professional politicians and assume responsibility for what it takes to achieve a more just and perfect democracy.

Glaude’s latest book, America, U.S.A.: How Race Shadows the Nation’s Anniversaries, centered around the major celebrations of America’s milestone birthdays across 250 years of history, offers a riveting look at the battles over who has a stake in writing the American story.

A highly accomplished and respected scholar of religion, Glaude is a former president of the American Academy of Religion. His books on religion and philosophy include An Uncommon Faith: A Pragmatic Approach to the Study of African American Religion, African American Religion: A Very Short Introduction, and Exodus! Religion, Race and Nation in Early 19th Century Black America, which was awarded the Modern Language Association’s William Sanders Scarborough Book Prize.

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.