American academic and writer
Philip V. McHarris (born December 4, 1992) is an American academic at Yale University and writer.[1][2]
McHarris has been a frequent contributor for The New York Times,[3] The Washington Post,[4][5][6] Al Jazeera,[7] and Essence[8][9] regarding issues related to race, policing, housing, and social inequality. He has appeared on HBO,[10] CNN,[11] PBS,[12] ABC News,[13] and MSNBC.[14] His commentary has also been featured in Time,[15] the Los Angeles Times,[16] and MTV.[17]
McHarris has keynoted and spoken at universities across the country, including Harvard University,[18] Iona College,[19] Boston College,[20] Yale University Art Gallery,[21] and Princeton University.[22]
McHarris was also the recipient of the Boston College 31st Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Award.[1][20] In 2020, he was selected as one of the Root 100 most influential African Americans.[23][24]
Early life and education
McHarris was born in Bronx, New York, and grew up in Newark, New Jersey.[1] McHarris attended high school at Saint Benedict's Preparatory School and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in sociology from Boston College.[20] McHarris received a Master of Arts in sociology and African American studies from Yale University and a Master of Philosophy in sociology and African American studies from Yale University. He also attended Princeton University as a PhD exchange scholar. Philip McHarris is currently a PhD candidate at Yale University in sociology and African American studies.[25] McHarris' academic research focuses on race, policing, housing, inequality, and mass incarceration.[3][26][27]
Media
McHarris has frequently written and provided commentary on politics and social issues in news media outlets. He has appeared on CNN,[11][28] PBS,[12] ABC News,[13] MSNBC,[14] and Axios on HBO.[10] His commentary has also been featured on BBC,[29] Time,[30] NPR,[31] and NBC.[32]
McHarris has been a frequent contributor for The New York Times,[3] The Washington Post,[4][5][6] Slate,[33] Al Jazeera,[7] and Essence.[8][9] His commentary has also appeared in Time,[15] CNN,[34] the Los Angeles Times,[16] and MTV.[17]
Politics and activism
McHarris has been an advocate of the Black Lives Matter movement and efforts to end police violence.[35][36][37] He has advocated for divesting from policing and reinvesting funds into community resources and alternative safety and emergency response systems.[4][3][12]
In 2012 while an undergraduate student at Boston College, McHarris organized a student rally (along with Ben St. Gerard) following the killing of Trayvon Martin two months earlier.[38] In 2015 McHarris was a co-founder of the NYC chapter of BYP100, an African American youth organization in the United States with the main focus on community organizing, voter mobilization, and other social justice campaigns.[39][40]
