Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
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| Alma mater | Northeastern Illinois University (BA) Northwestern University (MA, PhD) |
| Occupation | Professor |
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Notable work
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From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation (2016) |
| Awards | MacArthur Fellow |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Princeton University |
| Thesis | Race for Profit: The Political Economy of Black Urban Housing in the 1970's (2013) |
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor is an American professor, writer, and activist. She teaches African American Studies at Northwestern University. She is well-known for her book From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation, published in 2016. This book earned her the Cultural Freedom Award from the Lannan Foundation. Since 2023, she has also been a co-publisher of Hammer & Hope, an online magazine.
Contents
- Education and Early Life
- Career and Writings
- Activism and Public Speaking
- Books by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
- Race for Profit: The Political Economy of Black Urban Housing in the 1970s (2013)
- The Anti-Inauguration: Building Resistance in the Trump Era (2016)
- From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation (2016)
- How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective (2017)
- Fifty Years Since MLK (2018)
- Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Home Ownership (2019)
- See also
Education and Early Life
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor started her college studies at Northeastern Illinois University. She took night classes while working to help people with housing issues. She earned her first degree, a Bachelor of Arts, in 2007.
She then continued her studies at Northwestern University. There, she earned a Master of Arts degree in African American Studies in 2011. In 2013, she completed her PhD in the same field. Her PhD research was about housing for Black families in the 1970s.
Career and Writings
After finishing her PhD, Dr. Taylor worked as a special researcher at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. She later became a professor at Princeton University in the African American Studies Department. As of 2022, she is a professor at Northwestern University, where she once studied.
Dr. Taylor often writes articles for major newspapers and magazines. Her writings have appeared in The Guardian, The New York Times, and The New Yorker. She has also been a guest on popular news shows like Democracy Now! and NPR's All Things Considered.
Her book, Race for Profit: Black Housing and the Urban Crisis in the 1970s, was published in 2019. This book was recognized as a semi-finalist for the National Book Award and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for History in 2020. In 2021, she received a Guggenheim Fellowship, which is a special award for people doing important work. On September 28, 2021, she was also named a MacArthur Fellow, another very high honor.
Activism and Public Speaking
Dr. Taylor is also known for her activism. In 2017, she spoke at an event called the Anti-Inauguration in Washington D.C. This event happened on the same day as the presidential inauguration.
She also helped organize a "women's strike" in 2017, which led to the Day Without a Woman event. She wrote articles supporting the 2017 Women's March.
In May 2017, Dr. Taylor gave a commencement speech at Hampshire College. After her speech, she received many threatening messages. The president of Hampshire College, Jonathan Lash, released a statement supporting her speech and her right to express her views.
In 2022, Dr. Taylor joined 150 other international feminists. They signed a statement called Feminist Resistance Against War: A Manifesto. This showed their support for Russian feminists who were protesting the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Books by Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor
Dr. Taylor has written and edited several important books.
Race for Profit: The Political Economy of Black Urban Housing in the 1970s (2013)
This book came from Dr. Taylor's PhD research. It looks at how the government and private companies tried to provide housing for African Americans after the 1960s. She questioned if these efforts truly helped or if they had different goals.
The Anti-Inauguration: Building Resistance in the Trump Era (2016)
This book is a collection of speeches from the 2017 Anti-Inauguration event. Dr. Taylor helped edit it. The speeches discuss the Trump presidency and how different groups could work together to create change.
From #BlackLivesMatter to Black Liberation (2016)
Published in 2016, this book won the Cultural Freedom Award. It explores the BlackLivesMatter movement. Dr. Taylor examines the history of policing and race in the United States. She also looks at how the movement can address more than just police issues.
How We Get Free: Black Feminism and the Combahee River Collective (2017)
This book features writings from the Combahee River Collective. This was a group of Black feminists from the 1960s and 70s. Dr. Taylor edited the book and wrote an introduction about the group's lasting impact on black feminism today.
Fifty Years Since MLK (2018)
Dr. Taylor was one of the authors of this book. It discusses the activism of Martin Luther King Jr. and how his work still influences activism today. The authors look at his efforts before his death and how history shapes current movements.
Race for Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Home Ownership (2019)
This book explores why fewer African Americans own homes. It looks at the role of banks and the real estate industry in this issue. This book was also recognized for the National Book Award.
See also
