Martin Kilson
Born
Martin Luther Kilson Jr.

(1931-02-14)February 14, 1931
East Rutherford, New Jersey, U.S.
DiedApril 24, 2019(2019-04-24) (aged 88)
Lincoln, Massachusetts, U.S.
SpouseMarion Dusser de Barenne
Academic background
Alma mater
Academic work
Main interestsAfrican-American studies, African studies

Martin Luther Kilson Jr. (February 14, 1931 – April 24, 2019) was an American political scientist. He was the first black academic to be appointed a full professor at Harvard University, where he was later the Frank G. Thomson Professor of Government from 1988 until his retirement in 1999.

Early life

Martin Luther Kilson Jr. was born on February 14, 1931, in East Rutherford, New Jersey,[1] to Martin and Louisa Kilson. The family moved to Ambler, Pennsylvania, and the younger Kilson attended Ambler High School before graduating at the top of his class at Lincoln University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in political science in 1953.[2]

He was granted a John Hay Whitney Fellowship and completed his education at Harvard University, graduating with a master's degree in 1958 and a doctorate the following year.[1] Kilson used a Ford Foundation Fellowship to undertake field research in West Africa.[2][3]

Career

Kilson returned to Harvard and accepted a lectureship at the university in 1962; he was appointed assistant professor in 1967.[4] Two years later, he became Harvard's first fully tenured African-American academic.[4] Kilson was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1975 and became the Frank G. Thomson Professor of Government at Harvard in 1988.[2][3] At the start of his academic career, Kilson became known for his research into African American studies,[5] and became an adviser for the Association of African and Afro-American Students at Harvard.[6] Kilson also compiled works relating to comparative politics,[7] focusing within the field on African studies.[8][9] Kilson's 1966 book, Political Change in a West African State: A Study of the Modernization Process in Sierra Leone, was reviewed extensively.[10]

After retiring from teaching in 1999,[2][3] Kilson continued to write and occasionally lecture. In 2002, he wrote a review for The Black Commentator critical of Randall Kennedy for the title of his book, Nigger: The Strange Career of a Troublesome Word.[11][12][13] In 2010, Kilson was featured in Harvard's annual W. E. B. DuBois lectures. He also wrote his final book, The Transformation of the African American Intelligentsia, 1880–2012, which was published in 2014.[14]

Personal life

Kilson and his wife Marion Dusser de Barenne had three children and they lived in Lexington, Massachusetts.[2] He died on April 24, 2019, from congestive heart failure.[4][15] His alma mater Lincoln University had planned to present Kilson with an honorary degree at its commencement ceremony in spring 2019.[16]

Selected bibliography

  • Political Change in a West African State (2014 reprint ed.). Harvard University Press. 1966. ISBN 978-0-674-49807-5.
  • New States in the Modern World. Harvard University Press. January 1, 1975. ISBN 978-0-674-62261-6.
  • The Transformation of the African American Intelligentsia, 1880–2012. Harvard University Press. June 17, 2014. ISBN 978-0-674-28354-1.

References

  1. 1 2 Sollors, Werner; Titcomb, Caldwell; Underwood, Thomas A.; Kennedy, Randall (1993). Blacks at Harvard: A Documentary History of African-American Experience at Harvard and Radcliffe. NYU Press. ISBN 978-0-8147-7973-6.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Martin Kilson (interview)". The HistoryMakers. October 22, 2016. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  3. 1 2 3 Johnson, Willard R. "Kilson, Martin L., Jr. (1931- )". BlackPast.org. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  4. 1 2 3 "Professor Emeritus Martin Kilson passed away yesterday". Department of Government. Harvard University. April 25, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  5. ↑ Watson, Jamal (April 27, 2019). "Dr. Martin Kilson Dead at 88". Diverse Education. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  6. ↑ Ujifusa, Grant M. (March 11, 1964). "Martin Kilson". Harvard Crimson. Retrieved April 29, 2019.
  7. ↑ Von Der Muhll, George (September 1978). "New States in the Modern World. Edited by Martin Kilson. (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1975. Pp. 254. $15.00.)". American Political Science Review. 72 (3): 1109–1110. doi:10.2307/1955204. JSTOR 1955204. S2CID 146432472.
  8. ↑ Kilson, Martin (February 1964). "Grass-roots politics in Africa: local government in Sierra Leone". Political Studies. 12 (1): 47–66. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9248.1964.tb00610.x. S2CID 144907685.
  9. ↑ Carter, Gwendolen M. (July 1966). "The Political Awakening of Africa. Edited by Rupert Emerson and Martin Kilson. [The Global History Series. Spectrum Book.] (Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall. 1965. Pp. x, 175. Cloth $4.95, paper $1.95.)". The American Historical Review. 71 (4). doi:10.1086/ahr/71.4.1396-a.
  10. ↑ Reviews of Political Change in a West African State: A Study of the Modernization Process in Sierra Leone include:
  11. ↑ Blenkinsopp, Alexander J. (July 5, 2002). "Professor Attacks Colleague's Controversial Book Title". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  12. ↑ McWhorter, John (January 2, 2008). "Black-on-Black Thought Crime". The New York Sun. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  13. ↑ Kilson, Martin (June 27, 2002). "The Black Commentator – The N-Word as Therapy for Racists". www.blackcommentator.com. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
  14. ↑ Reed, Touré F. (June 1, 2015). "Transformation of the African American Intelligentsia, 1880–2012". Journal of American History. 102 (1): 260–261. doi:10.1093/jahist/jav271. ISSN 0021-8723.
  15. ↑ Sandomir, Richard (April 30, 2019). "Martin Kilson, Scholar and Racial Pathbreaker at Harvard, Dies at 88". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  16. ↑ "Congressman Lewis to speak at Lincoln University's commencement". Daily Local News. April 19, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
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