Eddie Glaude Jr., a bestselling author and chair of the African American studies department at Princeton University, will speak to a SUNY Oswego audience at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 4 in the Marano Campus Center auditorium as part of the “I Am Oz” Diversity Speaker Series.

Glaude’s books include “Democracy in Black: How Race Still Enslaves the American Soul,” and “In a Shade of Blue: Pragmatism and the Politics of Black America.” These books take a wide look at Black communities, the difficulties of race in the United States and the challenges the nation faces as a 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 the nation’s complexities, vulnerabilities and hope into full view. 

Now the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor at Princeton University, Glaude helped shape that institution’s African-American studies department while he was a doctoral candidate in religion, before joining the faculty in 2002. 

A former president of the American Academy of Religion, he also has written books tackling the subject in “An Uncommon Faith: A Pragmatic Approach to the Study of African American Religion,” and “African American Religion: A Very Short Introduction, and Exodus! Religion, Race and Nation in Early 19th Century Black America.” The latter earned the Modern Language Association’s William Sanders Scarborough Book Prize.

At age 16, Glaude left his hometown of Moss, Point Mississsppi and began studying at Morehouse University in Atlanta.  He would graduate from Morehouse in 1989 with a bachelor’s degree in political science after serving as student body president. Continuing his studies he would receive a master’s degree in African American studies from Temple University before his his doctorate from Princeton. Keeping his connection to Morehouse, earlier this year Glaude was elected to the college’s Board Of Trustees.

In 2011, Glaude delivered Harvard's Du Bois lectures, and in 2015 received an honorary doctorate from Colgate University; at the ceremony, his Commencement remarks titled “Turning Our Backs,” was called cited as one of the best commencement speeches of the year by The New York Times.

Along with being an author and professor, Glaude  is a columnist for Time magazine, an MSNBC contributor on shows such as “Morning Joe” and “Deadline Whitehouse with Nicolle Wallace.” He has been on "The Daily Show with Trevor Noah" and regularly appears on NBC's “Meet the Press,” among other TV shows.

Glaude also hosts Princeton’s AAS podcast, a conversation around the field of African American Studies and the Black experience in the 21st century.

His Oswego appearance is free and open to the public, with doors opening at 6 p.m.

SUNY Oswego's new spectator policy requires those attending indoor events to be fully vaccinated or to have a recent negative COVID test. Read full policy for details.

-- Written by Braylon Noble of the Class of 2021