Obie Clayton Jr., a longtime HBCU professor and leading scholar on the experiences of Black men, families, and communities, passed away on June 11. He was 72 years old.
Born in Meridian, Mississippi, Dr. Clayton received his bachelor’s degree in religion and sociology from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi. He went on to receive his master’s degree and Ph.D. in sociology from Emory University in Atlanta.
Dr. Clayton was an administrator and professor at historically Black Morehouse College in Atlanta for more than two decades. Throughout his long tenure, he served in several leadership roles, including director of sponsored programs, executive director of the Morehouse Research Institute, chair of the sociology department, and vice provost for research.
After Morehouse, Dr. Clayton served as director of the Center for Undergraduate Research and Creativity at historically Black Clark Atlanta University. During his career, Dr. Clayton also held faculty positions at the University of Massachusetts Boston, the University of Nebraska Omaha, and the University of Georgia, where he was the Donald L. Hollowell Distinguished Professor of Social Justice and Civil Rights Studies.
As a scholar, Dr. Clayton focused his work on understanding and improving the lives of Black men and boys. He conducted extensive research on fatherhood, reentry, mass incarceration, race, inequality, and the lived experiences of Black communities. A leader in his field, Dr. Clayton also served as editor of the journal Phylon, editor of Challenge: A Journal of Research on African Men, and president of the Association of Black Sociologists.
