Taure Brown

Dr. Taure Brown is a sociologist, educator, and community organizer from Kinston, North Carolina. He serves as Director of the James Lawson Institute for the Research and Study of Nonviolent Movements at Vanderbilt University. Dr. Brown earned his Ph.D. in Sociology from North Carolina State University, where his dissertation, Faking the Funk: Hegemonic Antiracism During the Movement for Black Lives, examined media, racial ideology, and political development during the Movement for Black Lives.

Before entering academia, Dr. Brown organized around housing justice, education equity, and community safety—experiences that continue to shape his research, teaching, and public engagement. Through social media, public writing, and speaking engagements, he has helped spark critical conversations about racial, gender, and class inequality. His work has been featured in outlets such as The Washington Post and The Atlantic, and he has delivered lectures and keynote addresses at universities and organizations across the country.

Whether in the classroom, the community, or public forums, Dr. Brown is guided by a commitment to collective liberation and to helping others develop the tools to critically understand and challenge structural inequality. Prior to his current role, he held academic appointments in the sociology departments at Southeastern Louisiana University and Elon University.