Lester K. Spence (born June 5, 1969), Professor of Political Science and Africana studies at

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

is known for his academic critiques of

neoliberalism Neoliberalism (also neo-liberalism) is a term used to signify the late 20th century political reappearance of 19th-century ideas associated with free-market capitalism after it fell into decline following the Second World War. A prominent fa ...

and his media commentary and research on race, urban politics, and

police violence Police brutality is the excessive and unwarranted use of force by law enforcement against an individual or a group. It is an extreme form of police misconduct and is a civil rights violation. Police brutality includes, but is not limited to, ...

. Previously, he was an Assistant Professor of Political Science at

Washington University in St. Louis Washington University in St. Louis (WashU or WUSTL) is a private research university with its main campus in St. Louis County, and Clayton, Missouri. Founded in 1853, the university is named after George Washington. Washington University is r ...

. Spence's writings on race and politics appear regularly in publications such as '' Jacobin'', ''

The Chronicle of Higher Education ''The Chronicle of Higher Education'' is a newspaper and website that presents news, information, and jobs for college and university faculty and student affairs professionals (staff members and administrators). A subscription is required to re ...

'', ''Dissent''

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

, ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', ''

Baltimore City Paper ''Baltimore City Paper'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper published in Baltimore, Maryland, founded in 1977 by Russ Smith and Alan Hirsch. The most recent owner was the Baltimore Sun Media Group, which purchased the paper in 2014 from ...

'', among others. Spence also appears regularly on ''C-SPAN''
The Marc Steiner Show
among others. Raised in Inkster, Spence holds both a BA and a PhD in Political Science from the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

. He has lived in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

since 2004 and is a father of five.

Publications

*Spence, Lester. ''Knocking the Hustle: Against the Neoliberal Turn in Black Politics.'' Punctum Books, 2016. *Spence, Lester. "Race, Class, and the Neoliberal Scourge." Tikkun 28, no. 4 (2013): 29–31. *Spence, Lester K. "Race and The Green Mile." Contours of African American Politics: Black Politics and the Dynamics of Social Change 2 (2012): 281. *Spence, Lester, and Mike McGuire. "Occupy and the 99%." We are Many: Reflection of Movement Strategy From Occupation to Liberation AK Press (2012): 53–65. *Spence, Lester K. Stare in the darkness: The limits of hip-hop and Black politics. U of Minnesota Press, 2011. *Spence, Lester K., and Harwood McClerking. "Context, black empowerment, and African American political participation." American Politics Research 38, no. 5 (2010): 909–930. *Spence, Lester K. "Episodic frames, HIV/AIDS, and African American public opinion." Political Research Quarterly 63, no. 2 (2010): 257–268. *Spence, Lester K., Harwood K. McClerking, and Robert Brown. "Revisiting black incorporation and local political participation." Urban Affairs Review (2009). *Spence, Lester. "The Deaths Could Have Been Prevented." Space and Culture 9, no. 1 (2006): 5–6.

References

External links

* 1969 births Living people American political scientists University of Michigan College of Literature, Science, and the Arts alumni Johns Hopkins University faculty Washington University in St. Louis faculty 21st-century African-American academics 21st-century American academics {{US-polisci-bio-stub