Dr. Toure Reed
Professor
Office
SCH Schroeder Hall 328
Office Hours
Tuesdays and Thursdays 2:00-3:00, and by appointment
Office Phone
Email
- About
- Education
- Awards & Honors
- Selected Research
Biography
Dr. Reed earned his BA in American Studies from Hampshire College (Amherst, MA), and his PhD in History from Columbia University (New York, NY). He is a fourth generation African American educator and third generation professor. Having spent his formative years in South West Atlanta, GA and New Haven, CT, Dr. Reed's research interests center on race, class, and inequality. In addition to being a historian of African American and 20th Century US History, Dr. Reed is a shred guitar enthusiast.
Current Courses
HIS 258.001 Afro-American History Since 1865
HIS 499.016 Independent Research For The Master's Thesis
HIS 287.001 Independent Study
HIS 400.002 Independent Study
HIS 490.007 Readings -- Field Of Study
HIS 421.001 Seminar: Topics In American Racial & Ethnic History
HIS 291.007 Undergraduate Teaching Experience In History
Teaching Interests & Areas
Professor Reed's courses center on black social, political, and intellectual history. His courses draw from US urban and labor history.
Research Interests & Areas
Professor Reed's research projects focus principally on the impact of race and class ideologies on African American civil rights politics and US public policy from the Progressive Era through the Presidency of Barack Obama. Dr. Reed is the author of Not Alms But Opportunity: The Urban League and the Politics of Racial Uplift, 1910-1950 (UNC Chapel Hill Press, 2008) and Toward Freedom: The Case Against Race Reductionism (Verso Books, 2020). He is also co-author of Renewing Black Intellectual History: The Ideological and Material Foundations of Black American Thought (Paradigm Publishers, 2009 hardcover, 2010 paperback). Professor Reed's articles have appeared in the Journal of American Ethnic History, LABOR, nonsite.org, Catalyst, Blackagendareport.com, Commondreams.org, Dissent Magazine, Jacobin, the Nation, and The New Republic.
Dr. Reed is currently engaged in research for two monographs. Menace II Equality: How the Entertainment Industry Sold Reaganism to African Americans and New Deal Civil Rights: Class Consciousness and the Quest for Racial Equality, 1933-1948.
Dr. Reed has received numerous grants and fellowships including the prestigious Kluge Postdoctoral Fellowship at the Library of Congress in support of New Deal Civil Rights.
Ph D History
Columbia University
New York, NY
M Phil History
Columbia University
New York, NY
MA History
Columbia University
New York, NY
BA American Studies
Hampshire College
Amherst, MA
Influential and Inspirational Professor
History and Social Science Education Program
2024
Influential and Inspirational Professor
History and Social Sciences Education Program
2024
Distinguished Lecturer
College of Arts and Sciences, Illinois State University
2024
Influential and Inspirational Professor
History and Social Sciences Education Program
2023
Influential and Inspirational Professor
History-Social Sciences Education Program
2023
Influential and Inspirational Profesor
History-Social Sciences Education Program
2021
Influential and Inspirational Faculty
History-Social Sciences Education Program
2021
Impact Award
Illinois State University, Office of the Provost and University College
2021
Outstanding College Researcher in the Humanities
Illinois State University
2020
Influential and Inspirational Faculty
History-Social Sciences Education Program
2019
Influential and Inspirational Faculty
History Department
2019
Influential and Inspirational Faculty
History Department
2018
Impact Award
Illinois State University, Office of the Provost and University College
2018
Influential and Inspirational Faculty
History Department
2016
Influential and Inspirational Faculty
History Department
2016
Influential and Inspirational Faculty
History Department
2014
Influential and Inspirational Faculty
History Department
2014
Strand Diversity Award
Illinois State University
2013
Outstanding Faculty
ISU Dean of Students
2011
Outstanding Faculty
ISU Dean of Students
2007
University Teaching Initiative Award
2006
Grants and Contracts
Kluge Center, Postdoctoral Fellowship
Touré Reed.
Library of Congress. June 2011 - July 2011
Kluge Center, Postdoctoral Fellowship
Touré Reed.
Library of Congress. June 2010 - August 2010
Summer Faculty Fellowship
Touré Reed.
Illinois State University. June 2009 - July 2009
Faculty Research Award
Touré Reed.
Illinois State University. June 2008 - July 2008
Provost Incentive Award
Touré Reed.
Illinois State University. August 2003 - June 2004
New Faculty Initiative Grant
Touré Reed.
Illinois State University. June 2002 - July 2002
Provost Incentive Award
Touré Reed.
Illinois State University. August 2002 - June 2003
Provost Incentive Award
Touré Reed.
Illinois State University. August 2001 - June 2002
Merit Fellow
Touré Reed.
Columbia University. September 1 1999 - June 1 2000
George Edmunds Haynes Fellow
Touré Reed.
Columbia University. September 1993 - May 1998
Book Review
Review of Joe Trotter, Jr., Pittsburgh and the Urban League Movement: A Century of Social Service and Activism
Toure F Reed.
(2022), Journal of American History
Review of Keneshia Grant, The Great Migration and the Democratic Party: Black Voters and the Realignment of American Politics in the 20th Century
Toure F Reed.
(2021), Journal of Urban Affairs
Review of Glenn Feldman, ed. Nation within a Nation: The American South and the Federal Government
Touré F. Reed.
(2018), Florida Historical Quarterly
Review of Martin Kilson, The Transformation of the African American Intelligentsia, 1880-2012
Touré F. Reed.
(2015), Journal of American History
Review of Erik S. Gellman, Death Blow to Jim Crow: The National Negro Congress
Touré F. Reed.
(2014), Journal of Southern History
Review of Gordon Mantler, Power to the Poor: Black-Brown Coalition and the Fight for Economic Justice, 1960-1974
Touré F. Reed.
(2014), Journal of Illinois State Historical Society
Review of Charles Euchner, Nobody Turn Me Around: A People’s History of the 1963 March on Washington
Touré F. reed.
(2013), FireDogLake.com
Review of David M. Lewis-Colman, Race Against Liberalism: Black Workers and the UAW in Detroit
Touré F. Reed.
(2011), LABOR: Studies in Working Class History in the Americas
Review of Susan Curtis, Colored Memories: A Biographer’s Quest for the Elusive Lester A. Walton
Touré F. Reed.
(2010), Journal of Southern History
Review of Beth Bates, Pullman Porters and the Rise of Protest Politics in Black America, 1925-1945
Touré F. Reed.
(2003), Journal of International Labor and Working Class History
Review of Kevin Gaines, Uplifting the Race: Black Leadership, Politics and Culture in the Twentieth Century
Touré F. Reed.
(1998), Contemporary Sociology
Book, Authored
Toward Freedom: The Case Against Race Reductionism
Toure F. Reed.
(2020), Verso Books
Renewing Black Intellectual History: The Ideological and Material Foundations of African American Thought
Touré F. Reed.
(2009), Paradigm Publishers
Not Alms But Opportunity: The Urban League and the Politics of Racial Uplift, 1910-1950
Touré F Reed.
(2008), University of North Carolina Press
Book, Chapter
Is it Race or Racism: Why Binary Explanations for Inequality Have Failed Black Americans
Touré F Reed.
(2025), Socialist Register 2025
Black Exceptionalism and the Militant Capitulation to Economic Inequality
Toure F Reed.
(2022), The Panthers Can't Save Us Now: Debating Left Politics and Black Lives Matter, Verso Books
“The Evolution of ‘Race’ and Racial Justice Under Neoliberalism”
Toure F Reed, .
(2021), 58, 113-134, Socialist Register
El Excepcionalismo Negro y la Capitulación Militante Desigualdad Económica
Toure Reed.
(2020), Book Chapter, Libros Corrientes
The Educational Alliance and the Urban League of New York: Ethnic Elites and the Politics of Americanization and Racial Uplift, 1903-1931
Touré F. Reed.
(2009), 95-125, Renewing Black Intellectual History: The Ideological and Material Foundations of African American Thought, Paradigm Publishers
Encyclopedia
W.E.B. DuBois and the Philadelphia Negro
Touré F. Reed.
Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Urban and Regional Studies, (2019)
Journal Article
Blinded by a Righteous Outrage: From the 1994 Crime Act to Trump 2.0
Touré F Reed.
nonsite.org, (50), (2025)
Black Exceptionalism and the Militant Capitulation to Economic Inequality
Touré F. Reed.
New Politics, 17 (2), 8-11, (2019)
Granger’s ‘Challenge to the Youth’ and Stein’s Challenge to Historians: Industrial Democracy and the Complexities of Black Politics
Touré F. Reed.
nonsite.org-- Emory University, (2019)
Between Obama and Coates
Touré F. Reed.
Catalyst: A Journal of Theory and Strategy, 1 (4), 8-54, (2018)
All Roads Named Culture of Poverty Lead to Mass Incarceration
Touré F. Reed.
LABOR: Studies in Working Class History in the Americas, 14 (4), 75-79, (2017)
Why Moynihan Was Not So Misunderstood at the Time: The Mythological Prescience of the Moynihan Report and the Problem of Institutional Structuralism
Touré F Reed.
nonsite.org-- Emory University, (17), (2015)
Title VII: The Rise of Workplace Fairness and the Decline of Economic Justice, 1964-2013
Touré F. Reed.
LABOR: Studies in Working Class History in the Americas, 11 (3), 31-36, (2014)
Oscar Handlin and the Problem of Ethnic Pluralism and African American Civil Rights,”
Touré F. Reed.
Journal of American Ethnic History, 32 (3), 37-45, (2013)
Magazine/Trade Publication
Kamala Harris Didn’t Lose Because of Racism
Touré F Reed.
Jacobin Magazine, (2025)
“Even When They Fail, They Win: Ocean Gate and the Cult of the Super-Wealthy Innovator”
Toure F Reed.
Commondreams.org, (2023)
"Why Juneteenth Celebrations Should Acknowledge the 13th Amendment"
Toure F Reed.
CommonDreams.org, (2022)
Pourquoi il est dangereux de laisser l’artefact de la race supplanter la classe sociale en temps de pandémie
Toure F, Reed.
La Pensee, 408 (2), 136-139, (2021)
Pourquoi les libéraux progressistes séparent la race de la classe
Toure Reed.
La Pensee, 408 (4), 127-135, (2021)
“The Political Economy of Racial Inequality,”
Toure F Reed.
Dissent Magazine, Summer 2021, (2021)
"A Liberal ‘Moral Reckoning’ Can’t Solve the Problems that Plague Black America,”
Toure F Reed.
Jacobin Magazine, (2020)
'Jess La Bombalera' and the Pathologies of Racial Authenticity
Toure F Reed.
Jacobin Magazine, (2020)
The Dangers of Letting Racecraft Displace Class During the Pandemic
Toure F Reed.
Jacobin Magazine, (2020)
“Why I’m Still Thinking about the Amy Cooper ‘Black Birder’ Episode in Central Park”
Toure F Reed.
Jacobin Magazine, (2020)
The Ties that Divide: How Bipartisan Identitarianism Works For the Boss and Against Citizen and Noncitizen Workers
Touré F. Reed.
CommonDreams.org, (2018)
Affirmative Action’s Labor Roots
Touré F. Reed.
(2016)
Why I Voted for Nader in 2000 and Will Be Voting for Hillary Clinton in 2016
Touré F. Reed.
The Nation Magazine, (2016)
Why Liberals Separate Race from Class
Touré F. Reed.
JacobinMag.com, (2015)
Obama and the Legacy of the 1963 March on Washington
Touré F. Reed.
BlackAgendaReport.org, (2008)
Other
Black History from the Civil RIghts Movement to BLM
Touré F Reed.
nonsite.org, (53), (2025)
Part 1, Contemporary US Politics; Part 2, Race and Class Reductionism; Part 3, Black History from the CRM to BLM
Touré Reed.
Round Table India, (2025)
The Moynihan Report and the Crescent City: Culturalism and Katrina in New Orleans
Touré F. Reed.
nonsite.org-- Emory University, (2015)
Study Guide
The Great Migration
Touré F Reed.
Gilder Lehrman Institute AP History Guide, (2025)
Presentations
A Brief History of Antidiscrimination
Touré F Reed.
City of Bloomington Symposium on Inclusion & Access Compliance, Bloomington, IL, August 26, 2025
"Race Reductionism Has Worked Against the Black Working Class"
Touré F Reed.
Unitarian Universalist Multiracial Unity Action Council, Oregon, June 7, 2025
The Thirteenth Amendment and its Significance
Touré F. Reed.
Inside the Vault, New York, NY, January 2, 2025
Race, Class, and Inequality-- Revisiting Toward Freedom
Touré Reed.
Guest Lecture, Dr. Hadass Silver's course "Race and Labor", W. Windsor Township, NJ, April 29, 2024
"Is it Race or Racism? How Binary Explanations for Inequality Have Failed Black Americans"
Touré Reed.
College of Arts and Sciences Lecture, Normal, IL, March 27, 2024
“Is it Race or Racism: Why Binary Explanations for Inequality Have Failed Black Americans”
Toure F. Reed.
Africana Studies Research and Discovery Week, Alubuquerque, NM, November 7, 2023
“Is it Race or Racism?” Delving Into Race Reductionism vs. Class-First Explanations in Social Phenomena with Professor Touré F. Reed
Toure F Reed.
Philosophy of Race Workshop Group, University of Pennsylvania, Online, October 27, 2023
Is it Race or Racism: Why Binary Explanations for Inequality Have Failed African Americans
Toure F Reed.
Illinois College Fall Convocation, Jacksonville, IL, October 16, 2023
Toward Freedom: The Case Against Race Reductionism
Toure F Reed.
Office of Inclusive Excellence DEI program, Chicago, March 29, 2023
Toward Freedom: Discussion with Historian Touré Reed
Toure F Reed.
Service Employees International Union HCII, Online, February 2, 2023
"The Problem with Race Reductionism"
Toure F. Reed.
Ministry Collaborative Cohort on Race and Economics, Online, November 28, 2022
The New Deal Did NOT Invent Residential Discrimination
Toure F Reed.
“The Unfinished Business of the New Deal”, Online, October 3, 2022
“A City by and for the Working Class: Adolph Reed on American Urban Politics”
Toure F Reed.
A City by and for the Working Class: Adolph Reed on American Urban Politics, Montreal, September 15, 2022
What We Lose When We Divorce Race from Class
Toure F Reed.
Presentation to Senior Editors and Journalists at Education Week Magazine, Online, September 9, 2022
"Race and Racial Justice Under Neoliberalism”
Toure F Reed, Adolph L Reed, Jr..
“Polarization and Socialism: The Direction Forward,” a discussion of contributions to The Socialist Register 2022: New Polarizations, Old Crisis of Centrism. The Crisis Centrism", Online-- based in Toronto, May 15, 2022
"The Conservative Implications of Liberal Race Reductionism"
Toure F. Reed.
Guest Lecture, Professor Michael Fortner's course on "Race and Politics", Online, February 23, 2022
"Toward Freedom: The Case Against Race Reduction"
Toure F. Reed.
Black History Month Speaker, Online, February 22, 2022
“Ethnic Essentialism and Symbolism are Poor Substitutes for Material Equality"
Toure F Reed.
“Revisiting Black Irish Relations and Responding to a Transnational Movement”, New York University, November 19, 2021
Discussion of the Reactionary-Essentialist Implications of Identity Politics
Toure Reed.
The Anti-Labor Radicalism of the 21st Century: A Conversation with Zine Magubane, Touré Reed, and Adolph Reed, online, May 14, 2021
“Social Democracy in New York and the Nation”
Toure F Reed.
Working-Class New York Revisited, Online/New York, April 23, 2021
The Dangers Posed by Identity Politics to Racial Justice and the Public Good
Toure F Reed.
Public Humanities and the Democratic Commons, New York City/Online, April 9, 2021
The Pitfalls of Woke Neoliberalism: The Conservative Implications of Liberal Race Reductionism
Toure F Reed.
Ohio University's Ted Rose Guest Speaker Series, Online, March 18, 2021
Discussion on Race and Inequality in the US
Toure F Reed.
Panel: “Abbey Speaker Series: Defining Racial Justice in the 21st Century—Competing Perspectives on Shared Goals,” Moderated by Jamelle Bouie, Zoom/Online, February 23, 2021
The Pitfalls of Woke Neoliberalism
Toure F Reed.
Sociology Colloquium on Race and Race Relations, University of California-Riverside, Online, November 19, 2020
Lecture on Toward Freedom: The Case Against Race Reductionism
Toure F Reed.
LAWCHA Pandemic Book Talk Series, Online, October 15, 2020