Melissa Harris-Perry Keynote Speaker

  • Presidential Endowed Professor in Politics and International Affairs, Wake Forest University
  • Contributing Editor, Essence
  • Former MSNBC Host

Melissa Harris-Perry's Biography

Melissa Harris-Perry Speaker Profile:

Melissa Harris-Perry is Presidential Endowed Professor in Politics and International Affairs at Wake Forest University, where she is founding director of the Anna Julia Cooper Center on Gender, Race, and Politics in the South, and Executive Director of the Pro Humanitate Institute. She is the former host of MSNBC’s “Melissa Harris-Perry“.

Harris-Perry is author of the well received book, “Sister Citizen: Shame, Stereotypes, and Black Women in America,” which argues that persistent harmful stereotypes-invisible to many but painfully familiar to black women-profoundly shape black women’s politics, contribute to policies that treat them unfairly, and make it difficult for black women to assert their rights in the political arena.

Her first book, “Barbershops, Bibles, and BET: Everyday Talk and Black Political Thought,” won the 2005 W. E. B. Du Bois Book Award from the National Conference of Black Political Scientists and 2005 Best Book Award from the Race and Ethnic Politics Section of the American Political Science Association.

Professor Harris-Perry is a columnist for “The Nation” magazine, where she writes a monthly column also titled “Sister Citizen.” She is also a contributing editor to “Essence” magazine where she pens a monthly column on parenting and politics. She also provides expert commentary on U.S. elections, racial issues, religious questions and gender concerns for a variety of other media outlets.

Her academic research is inspired by a desire to investigate the challenges facing contemporary black Americans and to better understand the multiple, creative ways that African Americans respond to these challenges. Her work is published in scholarly journals and edited volumes and her interests include the study of African American political thought, black religious ideas and practice, and social and clinical psychology.

Melissa Harris-Perry’s creative and dynamic teaching is also motivated by the practical political and racial issues of our time. She has taught students from grade school to graduate school and has been recognized for her commitment to the classroom as a site of democratic deliberation on race.

She travels extensively speaking to colleges, organizations and businesses in the United States and abroad. In 2009 she became the youngest scholar to deliver the W.E.B. Du Bois Lectures at Harvard University. Also in 2009 she delivered the prestigious Ware Lecture, becoming the youngest woman to ever do so.

Melissa Harris-Perry is a trustee of The Century Foundation. Founded in 1919, The Century Foundation provides creative, progressive solutions to our important domestic and international challenges. Fellows at The Century Foundation – among the most accomplished experts in the country – advance distinctive, workable ideas built on compelling evidence

Melissa Harris-Perry also sits on the advisory board for “Chef’s Move!”, a program whose mission is to diversify kitchen management by providing training, experience and mentorship to minority applicants from New Orleans, sending them to New York City for culinary school training and then bringing them back again to become leaders in the kitchen and in their community.

For availability and speaker fees, please contact Melissa Harris Perry’s speaking agent at Chartwell here, or call +1 972 385 1021 for U.S. inquiries or +44 207 293 0864 for international inquiries.

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Videos of Melissa Harris-Perry

Sister Citizen: Shame Stereotypes and Black Women in America
Sister Citizen: Shame Stereotypes and Black Women in America

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