New York Times bestselling author, political commentator and educator Eddie Glaude Jr., PhD, will join Stony Brook University Executive Vice President and Provost Carl Lejuez in conversation at the next Presidential Lecture on Thursday, February 27.
Glaude, whose latest book is We Are the Leaders We Have Been Looking For, is the James S. McDonnell Distinguished University Professor and former chair of the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University (2009–2023). He examines the complex dynamics of the American experience, and his writings take a wide look at Black communities, the difficulties of race in the United States and the challenges we face as a democracy.
Guided by questions from the audience, Glaude will examine the concept of anti-racism, which rejects the idea that some people should be valued more than others. He will also talk about the importance of creating conditions for people to think more carefully and systematically about the issues they confront.
We Are the Leaders We Have Been Looking For is based on the W.E.B. Du Bois Lectures Glaude delivered at Harvard University. In it, 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 Du Bois quotes, “not hopeless, but a bit unhopeful.” His 2015 commencement remarks at Colgate University titled, “Turning Our Backs,” was recognized by the The New York Times as one of the best commencement speeches of the year.
Other writings include 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.
The event will take place at 5 pm in the Charles B. Wang Center Theater. It is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. RSVP online and submit questions by February 13. A Q&A, book signing and reception will follow.
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