Lerone A. Martin

Bio

Lerone A. Martin is the Martin Luther King, Jr., Centennial Professor in Religious Studies, African & African American Studies, and The Nina C. Crocker Faculty Scholar. He also serves as the Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute at Stanford University.

Martin is an award-winning author. His most recent book, "The Gospel of J. Edgar Hoover: How the FBI Aided and Abetted the Rise of White Christian Nationalism," was published in February 2023 by Princeton University Press. The book has garnered praise from numerous publications including The Nation, Foreign Affairs, The Guardian, Publisher’s Weekly, and History Today.

In 2014 he published, "Preaching on Wax: The Phonograph and the Making of Modern African American Religion."vvThe book received the 2015 first book award by the American Society of Church History.

In support of his research, Martin has received a number of nationally recognized fellowships, including the National Endowment for the Humanities, The American Council of Learned Societies, The Institute for Citizens and Scholars (formerly The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation), The Teagle Foundation, Templeton Religion Trust, the Louisville Institute for the Study of American Religion, and the Forum for Theological Exploration.

Most recently, Martin became Co-Director of $1 million grant from the Henry Luce Foundation to fund “The Crossroads Project,” a four-year, multi-institution project to advance public understanding of the history, politics, and cultures of African American religions.

He has also been recognized for his teaching, receiving institutional teaching awards as well as fellowships from the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion.

His commentary and writing have been featured on The NBC Today Show, The History Channel, PBS, CSPAN, and NPR, as well as in The New York Times, Boston Globe, CNN.com, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He currently serves as an advisor on the upcoming PBS documentary series The History of Gospel Music & Preaching.

Lerone is currently working on a nonfiction book and an adapted graphic novel about the adolescence and calling of Martin Luther King, Jr., both to be published by HarperCollins.

Academic Appointments

• Professor, Religious Studies
• Professor, African and African American Studies

Administrative Appointments

• Director, Martin Luther King Jr. Research and Education Institute (2022 - Present)

Honors & Awards

• Co-Principal Investigator, “The Crossroads Project on Black Religion, Henry Luce Foundation (2021-2025)
• Principal Investigator, Citizenship and Freedom, The Teagle Foundation (2020)
• Co-Principal Investigator, “Harnessing Religious Values to Increase Public Virtue.", Templeton Religion Trust (2019-2021)
• Faculty Fellowship, National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) (2018-2019)
• Faculty Fellowship, The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) (2016-2017)
• Mellon Emerging Faculty Leaders Award, The Institute for Citizens and Scholars, formerly The Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation (2016-2017)
• Frank S. and Elizabeth D. Brewer Prize for outstanding scholarship by a first-time author, The American Society of Church History, affiliate of the American Historical Association (AHA). (2015)

Additional Program Affiliations

• American Studies