Adolph L. Reed Jr. facts for kids

Adolph Leonard Reed Jr. (born January 14, 1947) is a retired professor of political science at the University of Pennsylvania. He is known for studying important topics like racism and how politics works in the United States.

He has taught at several famous universities, including Yale, Northwestern, and the New School for Social Research. He has also written many articles about racial and economic inequality, which means differences in wealth and opportunities. He has written for magazines like The New Republic and The Nation. He also helped start the U.S. Labor Party.

About Adolph Reed's Life

Early Life and Education

Adolph Reed Jr. was born in The Bronx, New York, in 1947. He grew up in New Orleans, Louisiana. In the late 1960s, he helped organize protests. These protests involved poor Black people and soldiers who were against the war at the time.

He earned his first college degree (a Bachelor of Arts) from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1971. Later, he received his PhD (a higher-level degree) from Atlanta University in 1981. While he was studying for his PhD, he worked as an advisor to Maynard Jackson. Maynard Jackson was a very important person because he was Atlanta's first Black mayor.

Adolph Reed's Political Ideas

Understanding Identity Politics

Adolph Reed is well-known for his ideas about U.S. politics. He often talks about "identity politics" and "anti-racism." Identity politics is when people focus on the shared experiences of groups, like those based on race or gender. Reed has often shared his thoughts on how these ideas affect Black politics in the U.S.

Views on Democratic Politicians

Reed has openly shared his thoughts on the policies of Black politicians from the Democratic Party. For example, he often discussed the politics of Barack Obama, both before and during Obama's time as president.

In an article published in The Village Voice on January 16, 1996, Reed shared his early thoughts on Obama. He described Obama as a "smooth Harvard lawyer" who had good intentions but whose political ideas were not strong enough to truly help communities. Reed believed that Obama's approach focused too much on small-scale solutions and talk, rather than big changes. He thought this way of thinking might become common in Black politics.

Thoughts on Political Appointments

On December 17, 2012, South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley announced that Tim Scott, an African American Republican, would become a U.S. Senator for South Carolina. The next day, Reed wrote an article in The New York Times. In his article, he said that having Black Republicans in high positions often makes it seem like there is more progress than there actually is. He suggested that sometimes these appointments are more like "tokens" than real signs of change.

Support for Bernie Sanders

Adolph Reed also supported Bernie Sanders in his campaigns for president. He backed Sanders in both the 2016 and 2020 presidential elections.