Dr. Lester K. Spence

Lester Spence is Assistant Professor of Political Science and Africana Studies at Johns Hopkins University. His specialties include black politics, racial politics, urban politics, public opinion, and American political thought. Interested in studying and contesting the reproduction of inequality, his work has appeared in both academic journals (including the American Journal of Political Science, Political Research Quarterly, Political Analysis, the WEB Dubois Review, and the National Political Science Review), and in the popular press (Urbanite Magazine, Salon.com, Africana.com, TheRoot.com, the Washington Post, thegrio.com). His book Stare in the Darkness: The Limits of Hip-hop and Black Politics will be published by the University of Minnesota Press in 2011 and is one of the first books to empirically examine the political effect of hip-hop on black communities. He is currently at work on a new book examining the neoliberal turn in black politics.

The 2009 recipient of Johns’ Hopkins prestigious Excellence in Teaching Award (given yearly to the best teacher as judged by faculty, staff, alumni, and students), Dr. Spence is known for his ability to not only explain complex information in ways that diverse populations can understand and appreciate, but also for his willingness to mentor students. Of Spence’s teaching one student wrote:

“Professor Spence is one of the most influential professors I have ever encountered at Hopkins. He was an amazing professor for several reasons: his practical yet brilliant insights on racial politics, his uncanny ability to dissect any issue both inside and outside the classroom, and his unique teaching style. His lectures were always engaging and I often walked away from class more interested and more motivated than I was before.”

Spence appears regularly on NPR and provides expert commentary. He received both his bachelor’s and doctoral degree from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. A proud native of the Detroit area, he is also a husband and a father of five.