Clarence Taylor is professor emeritus of History at

Baruch College Baruch College (officially the Bernard M. Baruch College) is a public college in New York City, United States. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the colle ...

in New York City and author of books on racism, religion, and civil rights in 20th-century America.

Background

Clarence Taylor was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

. He attended the

East New York East New York is a residential neighborhood in the eastern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Its boundaries, starting from the north and moving clockwise, are roughly the Cemetery Belt and the Queens borough line to the north; ...

elementary school and

Canarsie High School Canarsie High School was a public high school in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Canarsie in New York City. It first opened in 1964 but closed in 2011. The building currently operates as Canarsie Educational Campus, housing several smaller high sc ...

in Brooklyn. He received a BA from

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

and MA from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

. In 1992, he received a doctorate in American history from the

Graduate Center of the City University of New York The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York (CUNY Graduate Center) is a public research institution and postgraduate university in New York City. Formed in 1961 as Division of Graduate Studies at City University ...

Career

Taylor began his career as a teacher in the New York city public school system. He spent eight years as special education teacher at Junior High School 278 at Marine Park (Brooklyn). He then became a social studies teacher at James Madison High School. In 1991, Taylor became a professor at

Le Moyne College Le Moyne College is a private Jesuit college mostly in DeWitt, New York. It was founded by the Society of Jesus in 1946, and named after Jesuit missionary Simon Le Moyne. Le Moyne was the first co-educational Jesuit college in the United Sta ...

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

. In 1996, he joined the history department and African-New World Studies Program at

Florida International University Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Westchester, Florida, United States. Founded in 1965 by the Florida Legislature, the school opened to students in 1972. FIU is the third-largest univ ...

. In 2004 he was named Professor of History and Chair of the Department of Black and Latino Studies at

. In 2017 he became Professor ''emeritus.'' Taylor researches recent civil rights and black power movements, African-American religion, and the modern history of New York City. In 2012, Taylor appeared in the documentary film ''Changing Faces of Harlem''. In 2018, Taylor appeared in the PBS documentary film "The Woman in the Iron Coffin"

Awards

*2001:

Gustavus Myers Gustavus Myers (March 20, 1872–1942) was an American journalist and historian who published a series of highly critical and influential studies on the social costs of wealth accumulation. The Gustavus Myers Outstanding Book Award was named a ...

Award (for ''Civil Rights Since 1787'')

Works

Taylor has written and edited books and also articles for journals and magazines including ''

Jacobin The Society of the Friends of the Constitution (), renamed the Society of the Jacobins, Friends of Freedom and Equality () after 1792 and commonly known as the Jacobin Club () or simply the Jacobins (; ), was the most influential political cl ...

''. Books: *''The Black Churches of Brooklyn from the 19th Century to the Civil Rights Era'' (1994) *''Knocking At Our Own Door: Milton A. Galamison and the Struggle to Integrate New York City Schools'' (1997) *''Black Religious Intellectuals: The Fight for Equality from

Jim Crow The Jim Crow laws were state and local laws introduced in the Southern United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries that enforced racial segregation, " Jim Crow" being a pejorative term for an African American. The last of the ...

to the 21st Century'' (2002) *''Reds at the Blackboard: Communism, Civil Rights and the New York City

Teachers Union The New York City Teachers Union or "TU" (1916–1964) was the first New York labor union for teachers, formed as "AFT Local 5" of the American Federation of Teachers, which found itself hounded throughout its history due largely to co-membership ...

'' (2011) *''Fight the Power: African Americans and the Long History of Police Brutality in New York City'' (2018) Books edited: *''Civil Rights Since 1787: A Reader in the Black Struggle'' (2000) (co-editor) *''Civil Rights in New York City: From World War II to the Giuliani Era'' (2011)

References

External sources