Algernon Austin has conducted research and writing on issues of race and racial inequality for more than 20 years. His current primary focus is the low rate of employment among Black Americans—one of the three major labor market challenges facing this population—and the use of subsidized employment as a tool to address the problem.
Austin also has an interest in social housing, infrastructure, racial wealth inequality and other topics at the intersection of race and the economy.
He holds a doctorate in sociology from Northwestern University and previously taught sociology as a faculty member at Wesleyan University. Austin has held positions at the Economic Policy Institute, the Center for Global Policy Solutions, Dēmos and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.
He has discussed racial inequality on PBS, CNN, NPR and other national television and radio networks.