Martha S. Jones

Martha S. Jones, JD, PhD is a legal and cultural historian whose work examines how Black Americans have shaped the story of American democracy. She is the author of Vanguard: How Black Women Broke Barriers, Won the Vote, and Insisted on Equality for All. ​

Professor Jones is the Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor, Professor of History, and professor at the SNF Agora Institute at The Johns Hopkins University. ​

She is an exhibition curator for “Reframing the Color Line” and “Proclaiming Emancipation” at the William L. Clements Library, and consultant with the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, the Charles Wright Museum of African American History, PBS American Experience, the Southern Poverty Law Center, Netflix, and Arte (France). Her work has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Atlantic. She holds a PhD in history from Columbia University and a JD from the CUNY School of Law.

Martha S. Jones's Portfolio Links

• Xernona Clayton and Martha S. Jones Discuss Civil Rights