• Professor, African and African American Studies
• Professor, American Culture Studies
• Professor, English
• Director, Center for the Humanities

Gerald L. Early

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• Ph.D. in English literature at Cornell University
• M.A. in English literature at Cornell University
• B.A. in English literature at University of Pennsylvania

News Stories & Tip Sheets:

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"African American Literature Today" April 15 panel to discuss two new anthologies March 27, 2009 -- Three prominent writers will examine "African American Literature Today" at 4 p.m. Wednesday, April 15, in Hurst Lounge. The discussion — sponsored by the African & African-American Studies Program and by the Center for the Humanities, both in Arts & Sciences — will focus on a pair of new anthologies, Best African American Essays 2009 and Best African American Fiction 2009, both published by Bantam Books.

Obama the author African-American writing featured in books edited by Gerald Early Jan. 13, 2009 -- Gerald Early Those looking to learn more about president Barack Obama and gain an introduction to African-American writing in the process are advised to check out two new books — "Best African American Fiction: 2009" and "Best African American Essays: 2009." Edited by Gerald L. Early, Ph.D., the Merle Kling Professor of Modern Letters and director of the Center for the Humanities in Arts & Sciences, the two volumes are the first in the "Best of…" series to exclusively showcase African-American writing. They include writing by and about Obama.

Bad for Baseball? America ready to peg Barry Bonds as 'Bad Negro," says WUSTL essayist Gerald Early July 13, 2007 -- Gerald Early While baseball purists may be poised to place a "steroid-fueled" asterisk next to Bond's name in the record books, to do so would be a mistake, one that follows an unfortunate pattern in the history of blacks in American sports, suggests Gerald Early, Ph.D., a noted essayist and book author who has written extensively on black culture and sports.

Jazzed up Teaching 'America's music' to the next generation June 19, 2007 -- "Teaching Jazz as American Culture" Jazz is "America's Music." Established in the early 1900s, the music has remained popular for nearly a century, going through many variations. In the 1920s, jazz was "pop" music, but today it is often shunned by younger people in favor of today's popular tunes — rap, rock and country. Can jazz, with its broad history and reputation for being "art" music, be relevant to youth today? The director of a summer jazz institute at Washington University in St. Louis hopes to show that jazz is not only relevant, but also essential. More...

Absence of blacks in the major leagues Blacks aren't playing baseball simply because 'they don't want to,' says Gerald Early April 12, 2007 -- NO BYLINE Gerald Early's "Unpopular Answer to a Popular Question." As Major League Baseball prepares to celebrate the 60th anniversary on April 15 of Jackie Robinson's breaking of the "color barrier," there's been a groundswell of dire warnings about the diminishing ranks of African-Americans on big-league rosters. Some say young urban blacks are isolated from the game by racism, poverty and little access to facilities, but Gerald Early, Ph.D., a noted essayist and black culture expert at Washington University in St. Louis, has a much simpler explanation: "Black Americans don't play baseball because they don't want to." More...

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Black Reverence for Jackson Is Now Unreserved The New York Times and 11 others June 29, 2009 -- Around the world, Michael Jackson was celebrated Sunday, but there was a special fervor in black neighborhoods and churches. Jackson is seen as a towering figure with crossover appeal, even if in life some of his black fans wondered if he was as proud of his race as his race was of him. Includes comments by WUSTL AFAS professor Gerald Early.

Black History Month has added meaning in 2009 USA Today and 3 others Feb. 2, 2009 -- Obama's election, and this year's 100th anniversary of the NAACP, means there has probably never been more reason to celebrate the annual February observance, black leaders and historians say. Includes comments by WUSTL AFAS professor Gerald Early.

Taking Them Out to the Ballgame The Washington Post May 29, 2008 -- Interest in the baseball among black youths is a topic of concern for MLB as more of that demographic seems to be interested in football and basketball. WUSTL professor Gerald Early, an expert on black culture, attributes this to the lack of availability of baseball in many black communities.

Early is the author of The Culture of Bruising: Essays on Prizefighting, Literature, and Modern American Culture, which won the 1994 National Book Critics Circle Award for criticism. The book was Early's sequel to his first volume of essays, Tuxedo Junction: Essays on American Culture, which was published in 1989.

Other books he has written are One Nation Under a Groove: Motown & American Culture (1994), which describes how Motown gained acceptance in white America as well as how the Motown sound was marketed to fit into popular culture, and Daughters: On Family and Fatherhood (1994), which chronicles the everyday challenges and triumphs of fatherhood. Daughters was a semifinalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1995, making it to the final 10 in the memoirs category. How the War in the Streets Is Won: Poems on the Quest of Love and Faith (1995) was his first book of poems.

He is the editor of numerous volumes, including This Is Where I Came In: Black America in the 1960s (2003); The Sammy Davis, Jr. Reader (2001); Miles Davis and American Culture (2001); The Muhammad Ali Reader (1998); Body Language: Writers on Sport (1998); and Ain't But a Place: An Anthology of African American Writings About St. Louis (1998).

Early edited the 1993 Lure and Loathing: Essays on Race, Identity and the Ambivalence of Assimilation, which later was named the "Outstanding Book" on the subject of human rights in North America. Early also wrote the introduction to the book. The Gustavus Meyer Center for the Study of Human Rights in North America presented the award.

He also edited My Soul's High Song: The Collected Writings of Countee Cullen and two volumes of Speech and Power: The African-American Essay in Its Cultural Content.

He has been nominated twice for a Grammy Award in the Best Album Notes category for Yes I Can! The Sammy Davis Jr. Story (2000) and Rhapsodies in Black: Music and Words From the Harlem Renaissance (2001).

For the academic year 2001-2002, Early was an invited fellow at the National Humanities Center in North Carolina, where he worked on a book about African Americans and the Korean War. His next book will be a collection of essays called This Is Where I Came In, to be published by University of Nebraska Press.

Early, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, has been a regular commentator on National Public Radio's "Fresh Air." He also has served as a consultant on Ken Burns' PBS documentaries on baseball and jazz and was a commentator on Burns' documentary on Jack Johnson, the first African-American heavyweight champion.

Early joined the Washington University faculty in 1982 as an instructor in what was then known as the Black Studies Program. In 1990, he became a full professor of English and of African & African American studies. He served as director and co-director of the American Culture Studies Program from 1991-96 and director of what was then called the African and Afro-American Studies Program from 1992-99.

In 1988, Early was among 10 American writers to receive a $25,000 Whiting Writer's Prize. That same year, he was among six to earn a $5,000 General Electric Foundation Award for Younger Writers. His work was included in The Best Essays of 1986, edited by Elizabeth Hardwick, and in several subsequent volumes in that series.

In October 2006, Early received the Phi Beta Kappa Award for Distinguished Service to the Humanities at the 41st Triennial Council of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.

A native of Philadelphia, Pa., Early received a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1974, a master's degree from Cornell University in 1980, and a doctorate from Cornell in 1982, all in English literature.