He is an American sociologist, lecturer, and writer. He is a leading scholar on African American men and boys and was the first person, as a Programme Officer with the WK Kellogg Foundation, to fund major philanthropic initiatives for African American men and boys.
1944
usa
American
In April 2014 his work was honoured at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The Harvard University Graduate School of Education’s Dean’s Advisory Committee on Equity and Diversity and the Morehouse Research Institute hosted a conference reflecting on 20 years since the ground breaking report by the National Task Force on African American men and boys; “Repairing the Breach: Key Ways to Support Family Life, Reclaim Our Streets and Rebuild Civil Society in America’s Communities.” The conference honoured Dr Austin as the architect of the initiative and editor of the report and explored the groundswell of interest in African American men among the philanthropic community.
Austin is listed as one of the 50 African Americans who forever changed academia.
He received his BA from Western Kentucky University in sociology and economics and went on to earn an MA in sociology at Fisk University and his PhD from McMaster University in Canada. Austin began his career as the first African American fulltime academic in the faculty at Georgetown University. He received a diploma from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and an Honorary Doctorate for Public Service from Central Michigan University. He is Mahatma Gandhi Fellow of the American Academy of Political and Social Science.
In 1997, Austin founded the Village Foundation, an organisation dedicated to `repairing the breach’ between African American males and the rest of society. Its mission was to engage African American young men and boys in American society, by reconnecting them first to their local communities and then to the larger society. One of the leading initiatives of the Village Foundation was the Give a Boy a Book Day campaign which was designed to encourage reading and literacy among young African American men. An expert on leadership, in his article, Twenty-First Century Leadership in the African-American Community Austin predicted a `new and emerging leadership class’ and the shift from a few national leaders to a `greater emphasis on local and regional leaders from the affected communities.’
Austin is the former Chairman of the Planning Committee on the Status of African American Men, convened by Congressman Danny Davis. He is also a founding fellow of the National Endowment for the Public Trust and Director of its Justice Task Force. He was Operational Chair of the Centennial Family Symposium in 2006 and Chairman,The Year of the African-American Male as well as Co-Convener of the Secretariat for African American Civil Society Leaders.
Spouse – Joy Ford
Children – Ariana Austin Makonnen
https://www.aapss.org/fellow/bobby-william-austin/ accessed 23/06/2022
https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/bobby-william-austin-38 accessed 23/06/2022
https://sherpa-online.com/blog/read/Inspirational-Black-Pioneers-Who-Helped-Shape-Education accessed 23/06/2022
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GzS4_0VqkU accessed 23/06/2022
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_William_Austin accessed 23/06/2022
https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/bobby-william-austin-38 accessed 23/06/2022
