It Appears There Are No Blacks Among the New Members of the American Philosophical Society

Founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1745, the American Philosophical Society has 1,001 members in five broad disciplines: mathematical and physical sciences, biological sciences, social sciences, the humanities, and the arts. Like other learned societies, the American Philosophical Society does not disclose the racial demographics of its membership. But black members of the society include Henry Louis Gates Jr., Claude Steele, Cornel West, Toni Morrison, Lawrence J. Bobo, Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot, and K. Anthony Appiah.

This spring 30 new American members were elected to the society. It appears from JBHE’s search of the new member list that none is black.

Copyright © 2010. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education. All rights reserved.