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Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr.
New York Times Bestselling Author & James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor, Princeton University
Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr.
New York Times Bestselling Author & James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor, Princeton University
Biography
One of the nation’s most prominent scholars, Dr. Eddie Glaude, Jr. is an author, political commentator, public intellectual and passionate educator who examines the complex dynamics of the American experience. 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 a wide look at Black communities, the difficulties of race in the United States and the challenges we face as a democracy.
Glaude’s latest book, We Are the Leaders We Have Been Looking For, will be released in April 2024. Based on the Du Bois Lectures he delivered at Harvard University, 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.
In his writing and speaking, Glaude is an American critic in the tradition of James Baldwin and Ralph Waldo Emerson, confronting history and bringing our nation’s complexities, vulnerabilities and hope into full view. Hope that is, in one of his favorite quotes from W.E.B. Du Bois, "not hopeless, but a bit unhopeful."
Some like to describe Glaude as the quintessential Morehouse man, having left his home in Moss Point, Mississippi at age 16 to begin studies at the HBCU and alma mater of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He holds a master’s degree in African American Studies from Temple University and a Ph.D. in Religion from Princeton University.
Glaude is known both for his inspiring oratory and ability to convene conversations that engage fellow citizens from all backgrounds — from young activists to corporate audiences looking for a fresh perspective on DEI. In 2011, he delivered Harvard’s DuBois lectures. His 2015 commencement remarks at Colgate University titled, "Turning Our Backs," was recognized by the New York Times as one of the best commencement speeches of the year.
Combining a scholar’s knowledge of history, a political commentator’s take on the latest events, and an activist’s passion for social justice, Glaude challenges all of us to examine our collective American conscience, "not to posit the greatness of America, but to establish the ground upon which to imagine the country anew."
Speaker Videos
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Eddie S. Glaude, Jr.'s Hot Takes on Identity, Higher Education, and Diversity
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Eddie S. Glaude Jr. On the Heroism of Malcolm X
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Imagine A New World
Lessons from the Later Dr. King
“Begin Again” & Lessons from James Baldwin | The Daily Show
America is Always Changing, But America Never Changes
Race & Democracy
Colgate University Commencement Speech
Speech Topics
Race & Democracy: America Is Always Changing, But America Never Changes
America’s great promise of equality has always rung hollow in the ears of Black Americans. Today, more than 60 years after the civil rights movement, Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr. says the situation is equally dire—and yet, the promise still lives. Drawing from his landmark book, Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul and his New York Times bestseller Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own, Dr. Glaude presents a picture of race and democracy that is colored by current events and framed by African American history. Bearing witness to the difficult truth in our country today, Dr. Glaude lays bare the tangled web of race, trauma and memory, and what we all must ask of ourselves to call forth a new America.
We Are the Leaders We Have Been Looking For
If there is one message that Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr. would like all Americans to hear, it’s this: We are more than the circumstances of our lives and what we do matters. In a new talk, based on his upcoming book, We Are the Leaders We Have Been Looking For, Dr. Glaude makes the case that the hard work of becoming a better person should be a critical feature of Black politics. Through virtuoso interpretations of Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X and Ella Baker, Dr. Glaude shows how ordinary people can be the heroes that our democracy so desperately requires, rather than outsourcing their needs to leaders who purportedly represent them. It gives us hope that we are at a moment to really reach for a genuine democratic society—not just for African Americans but for the country in general.
Everyday People in Leadership
When it comes to saving our democracy, Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr. has some good news. The answer is right in front of us … and it’s us. We can be the heroes and leaders who we are looking for, he says. We are the folks who can actually salvage our great experiment. In this passionate talk, Dr. Glaude will show how ordinary people can be the heroes that our democracy so desperately requires, rather than outsourcing their needs to leaders who purportedly represent them.
Why Diversity Matters
Bringing an outsider’s view and a fresh take to conversations on diversity, equity and inclusion, Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr. challenges organizations to go beyond just stating their DEI vision to authentically living its values. Key to this is understanding how the value gap (the belief that some people matter more than others) evidences itself in the corporate world and how it is counterintuitive to an innovative organizational culture that attracts and retains top talent. “Racial equality and genuine diversity in the workspace are not a charitable enterprise,” he says. “They are consistent with an overall mission and have everything to do with who we take ourselves to be.” Viewing DEI through an ethical and highly pragmatic lens, Dr. Glaude urges organizations to set bold goals and shift their approaches to create an environment that truly leverages talent and maximizes it at all levels –from junior employees to the C-Suite.
The Transformative Power of Imagination
Picture this: It’s the 1960s in rural Mississippi. Several black sharecroppers were sitting on a bus on their way to register to vote. They were nervous and there was good reason for it. They knew what could be in store for them—jail, attacks from a mob or even death. And then, one lone woman began singing spirituals to lift them. She sang everything she knew. Her name was Fannie Lou Hamer. Although not yet one of the most powerful voices for voting and civil rights we all know, she had already pictured a better world where everyone was equal … and she was willing to die for it. That story was told to Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr. by Bob Moses, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee activist and founder of The Algebra Project. It’s the perfect example of the transformative power of imagination. “We must resist those voices who urge us to settle for the world as it is and call us to imagine a better world,” Dr. Glaude says. In this powerful talk, Dr. Glaude shares stories of those who resisted the voices who urged them to settle for the world as it is and why we must do the same. You’ll learn how we can train ourselves to see what’s possible instead of what’s impossible and the incredible power of curiosity. “In every moment of radical democratic awakening in this country, the imagination has served as the spur,” Dr. Glaude says. “Ordinary people, for whatever reason, decide to risk it all for the idea that the world, their world, could be a different and better place. They imagine what that world might look like and they fight for it.”
Lessons from the Later Dr. King
For the majority of Americans, the image of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is frozen in time. We easily think of him as the leader of the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott or as the passionate preacher delivering “I Have a Dream” in 1963. Acclaimed scholar Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr., takes a look at another facet of the MLK story: Dr. King’s later and final years—when he was doubtful and felt that the country had turned its back on him. Five years after “I Have a Dream,” King was grappling with despair and disillusionment over the country’s direction—a sentiment he shared with James Baldwin, one of the 20th century’s greatest writers and chroniclers of the Black experience. When the two men met a few months before Dr. King’s murder, both were desperately trying to re-narrate the civil rights movement and change the consciousness of America. In this inspiring and thought-provoking keynote, Dr. Glaude examines this critical juncture in the life of Martin Luther King Jr., and what we all must do to make America live up to its promise. “We long for a Dr. King or an Abe Lincoln, because we don’t see our own capabilities as being sufficient,” Dr. Glaude has said. “History converged in a way that called Dr. King forward, and he answered the call. That can happen to anybody. We don’t need another Martin Luther King. We need everyday, ordinary people. We are the leaders we’ve been looking for.”
The Ethics of Anti-Racism
What does it mean to commit oneself to deconstructing the idea of whiteness and how it determines the distribution of advantages and disadvantages? How does one do that when the language of racism comes to us as naturally as language itself? For Dr. Eddie Glaude Jr., anti-racism isn’t about making a list of action items and then checking off some boxes. It is a highly ethical position—the reflection of a committed, moral choice to reject the idea that some people should be valued more than others. Calling on audiences to engage in an ongoing critique of racism’s manifestations, he challenges all of us to work together to create the conditions for people to think more carefully and systematically about the issues that we confront. As James Baldwin wrote in 1962: “The trouble is deeper than we think because the trouble is in us.” According to Dr. Glaude, eliminating racism will take a lot more work than checking off some boxes. It’s going to take nothing less than a moral reckoning.
Testimonials
Books & Media
Books
We Are the Leaders We Have Been Looking For
Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own
Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul
Media
Eddie Glaude Jr. On His New Book And What America Can Learn From James Baldwin
In The News
Articles
Eddie Glaude Jr., an Expert on James Baldwin, Reveals His Favorite Baldwin Book
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