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Clayborne Carson

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Clayborne Carson
Carson in 2017
Born(1944-06-15)June 15, 1944(age 80)
Buffalo, New York,U.S.
SpouseSusan Ann Carson
Children2
Academic background
EducationUniversity of California, Los Angeles(BA,MA,PhD)
Academic work
Era20th century
InstitutionsStanford University
Main interestsCivil Rights Movement
Martin Luther King Jr.

Clayborne Carson(born June 15, 1944) is an American academic who was a professor of history atStanford Universityand director of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute. Since 1985, he has directed the Martin Luther King Papers Project, a long-term project to edit and publish the papers ofMartin Luther King Jr.

Early life and education[edit]

Carson was born on June 15, 1944, inBuffalo,New York;son of Clayborne and Louise Carson. He grew up nearLos Alamos,New Mexico,where his was one of a small number ofAfrican-Americanfamilies. He attributes his lifelong interest in theCivil Rights Movementto that experience. "I had this really strong curiosity about the black world, because in Los Alamos the black world was a very few families. When the civil rights movement started, I had this real fascination with it, and I wanted to meet the people in it."[1]

After graduating fromLos Alamos High Schoolin 1962, Carson attended theUniversity of New Mexicofor his first year on college during the 1962–1963 school year. At age 19, Carson metStokely Carmichaelat a national student conference inIndiana.Carmichael convinced him to attend theMarch on Washington For Jobs and Freedomas a member of theStudent Nonviolent Coordinating Committee(SNCC, pronounced "snick" ).[2]On August 28, 1963, Carson was overwhelmed to find himself among hundreds of thousands of African Americans at the March. This was the first big thing Carson had done in contribution to theCivil Rights Movement.[3]Recalling the March, at which Dr.Martin Luther King Jr.delivered his famous "I Have a Dream"speech at theLincoln Memorial,Carson says, "I have a lot of vivid memories, but not of King's speech." What left the biggest impression, he says, were "the people I met there."[1]The March was also the only time Carson had ever heard Dr. King speak in public.[2]

It wasn't until 1964 after Carson had transferred to theUniversity of California, Los Angeles(UCLA) that he became more active in what he calls the "northern version of the southern struggle",[3]and continued with SNCC.[2]At UCLA Carson Changed his field of study fromcomputer programmingtoAmerican History.Here he earned hisB.A.(1967),M.A.(1971), and wrote his doctoral dissertation on Stokely Carmichael and SNCC which earned him hisPh.D.(1975).[2]While studying at UCLA, he was also involved withanti-Vietnam War protests.He speaks of that experience in his current writing, highlighting the importance of grassroots political activity within the African-American freedom struggle.

Career[edit]

Carson was a professor atStanford Universityfor more than 40 years, where he primarily taught U.S. History and African American History.[4][5]He teaches and lectures about Martin Luther King,Malcolm X,theStudent Nonviolent Coordinating Committee(SNCC), theBlack Panther Party,and other subjects related to the black struggle andcivil rights.He has been a frequent guest onPacifica RadiostationKPFAinBerkeley, California,and has also appeared on programs likeNPR'sFresh Air,theTavis Smiley Show,theCharlie Rose Show,Good Morning America,and theCBS Evening News.Carson is a member of the global council of theCalifornia International Law Centerat theUniversity of California, Davis School of Law.[6]

Carson has also written several books and articles regarding the Civil Rights Movement, and has made contributions to many more as well as documentaries, and interviews.[7]His first bookIn Struggle: SNCC and the Black Awakening of the 1960swas awarded theFredrick Jackson Turner Awardin 1982.[8]Carson was also the Historical Adviser for the filmFreedom on My Mind,which in 1995 was nominated for anOscar.[8]

In 1985,Coretta Scott Kingasked Carson to lead a project to publish King's previously unpublished works.[4]In an interview conducted in 2008, Carson explains that he initially declined to work as Senior Editor to Dr. King's works, Carson had "never really thought of [himself] as a King biographer. [He] was a SNCC person," he said, referencing the discord between SNCC and Dr. King that occurred during the movement. Carson eventually agreed to oversee the project mentioning that he would not have accepted the job if the family held control over Dr. King's works. Carson and his staff has spent over 20 years working to edit and publish Dr. King's works.[9]

Carson retired from Stanford in 2020.[10]

In 2021, Carson was nominated by PresidentJoe Bidento serve as a member of the newly formedCivil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board.[11]

Personal life[edit]

Carson married Susan Ann Beyer in 1967, who at the time was a librarian.[2]Until her retirement, she was the managing editor of the King Papers Project, and lives inPalo Alto, California.He has a daughter and son.

Awards and achievements[edit]

Select bibliography[edit]

  • Carson, Clayborne (1981).In struggle: SNCC and the Black awakening of the 1960s.Harvard University Press.ISBN9780674447264.[12]
  • Senior Academic Adviser "Eyes on the Prize"PBS,1987-1990.[12]
  • co-editor,The Eyes on the Prize Civil Rights Reader.Penguin Books, 1991.ISBN0-14-015403-5
  • Historical Adviser, "Freedom on My Mind"Tara Releasing, 1994.[12]
  • Co-editor with David Gallen,Malcolm X:the FBI file.Carroll & Graf Publishers, 1991.ISBN978-0-88184-758-1[2]
  • Co-author withCarol Berkinand others,American Voices A History of the United States.Scott Foresman and Company, 1992.ISBN0673352579[2]
  • co-author,A Knock at Midnight: Inspiration from the Great Sermons of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.Grand Central Publishers, 1998.ISBN978-0-446-52346-2
  • co-author,The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr.Grand Central Publishers, 2001.ISBN978-0-446-67650-2
  • co-editor,African American Lives: The Struggle for Freedom.Volume I. Longman, 2004.ISBN978-0-201-79487-8
  • co-editor,African American Lives: The Struggle for Freedom.Volume II. Longman, 2004.ISBN978-0-201-79489-2
  • co-author,The Martin Luther King, Jr. Encyclopedia.Greenwood Press, 2008.ISBN978-0-313-29440-2[2]
  • senior editor,The Papers of Martin Luther King, Jr..Vols. 1–4. University of California Press, 1992–2007.
  • co-editor with Kris Shepard,A Call to Conscience: The Landmark Speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. "Warner Books, Inc., 2001.ISBN0-446-52399-2[2]
  • consultant,Civil Rights Chronicle: the African-American Struggle for FreedomPublications International, Ltd., 2003.ISBN978-0-785-34924-2[2]
  • Martin's Dream: My Journey and the Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. A Memoir.Palgrave MacMillan, 2013.ISBN978-0-230-62169-5
  • — (2015)."Prologue. Martin's dream: the global legacy of Martin Luther King Jr"(PDF).Bulletin of the German Historical Institute (Washington DC).Supplement 11: 15–21. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on September 12, 2015.
  • Historical Adviser, "Chicano! History of Mexican American Civil Rights" NLCC Educational Media, 1996.[12]
  • Historical Adviser, "Black and Jews "1997.[12]
  • co-author, "Blacks and Jews in the Civil Rights Movement," inStrangers and Neighbors: Relations between Blacks and Jews in the United States,University of Massachusetts Press, 2000.ISBN978-1-55849-236-3[13]
  • Author of introduction,Stride Toward Freedom: Montgomery Story.Beacon Press, 2010.ISBN0807000698[2]
  • Co-Author,This Light is Ours: Activist Photographs of the Civil Rights Movement.WW Norton & Co, 2009.ISBN0393306046[2]
  • Author of playPassages of Martin Luther King.1993[5]

References[edit]

  1. ^abDiane Manuel, "A Sudden Call",Stanford Today,May/June 1996.
  2. ^abcdefghijkl"Clayborne Carson."Contemporary Authors Online,Gale, 2014.Biography In Context.Accessed 21 May 2019.
  3. ^abCarson, Clayborne. Interview. Valerie Lampman. 23 May 2019.
  4. ^abClayborne Carson Full Bio.16 June 2015. 25 May 2019.[1]Archived2019-06-11 at theWayback Machine.
  5. ^ab“Clayborne Carson.” Clayborne Carson Biography | King Legacy Series, www.thekinglegacy.org/individuals/clayborne-carson
  6. ^http://www.law.ucdavis.edu/academics-clinicals/cilc/global-council.html[permanent dead link]
  7. ^Clayborne Carson.November 2013. 9 May 2019.[2].
  8. ^abcdefghijk“Honors and Awards.”The Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute,4 Mar. 2019, kinginstitute.stanford.edu/institute/clayborne-carson/curriculum-vita/honors-and-awards.
  9. ^Carson, Clayborne. Interview. Christopher Phelps. Chronicle of High Education, 18 January 2008.
  10. ^Myers, Andrew."Clayborne Carson honored with 2023 Freedom Award | Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences".humsci.stanford.edu.Retrieved2024-05-29.
  11. ^"White House names nominees for Civil Rights Cold Case Records Review Board".TheGrio.2021-06-12.Retrieved2021-10-19.
  12. ^abcdefClayborne Carson.November 2013. 9 May 2019.[3].
  13. ^"Strangers and Neighbors".www.umass.edu.University of Massachusetts Press.

External links[edit]

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