BIO
"BITON" KURT B. YOUNG, Ph.D.
Dr. “Biton” Kurt B. Young is Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Political Science at Clark Atlanta University (CAU). Dr. Young was born in Belize City, Belize and grew up in Jersey City, NJ and Tampa, FL. He currently resides in Tampa and Atlanta, GA. Dr. Young attended the University of Florida where he received his undergraduate degree in History. Dr. Young completed both his M.A. in African & African American Studies and his Ph.D. in Political Science at Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, GA, under the guidance of Dr. Carolyn Fowler and Distinguished Professor Emeritus Dr. Mack H. Jones, respectively.
As a member of the faculty at CAU, Dr. Young has held several leadership positions. In addition to department chair, Dr. Young was also elected Chair of the CAU Faculty Assembly and Faculty Representative to the CAU Board of Trustees. Prior to CAU, Dr. Young served as Associate Professor of Political Science and Visiting Professor of African American Studies at the University of Central Florida in Orlando.
He held multiple teaching positions at other institutions of the historic Atlanta University Center including Morehouse College and Spelman College. During his tenure at Morehouse College, Dr. Young was on the faculty in the Department of History, the African American Studies Program (currently Africana Studies), and served as editorial assistant for the Journal of Negro History (currently the Journal of African American History). Dr. Young’s is a leading researcher and author on Pan-Africanism and Pan-African
politics. His publications have appeared in the Journal of Pan African Studies, where he was also invited to serve as Guest Editor for the widely read Special Commemorative Edition on Frantz Fanon. Other writings on Pan-Africanism and Pan-Africanists appear in journals such as Africa Today, Journal of Third World Studies (currently Journal of Global South Studies), Journal of Ethnic Politics, International Journal of Africana Studies, Journal of Political Ideologies, and Peace Review. Dr. Young’s upcoming book publication, tentatively titled Fighting to Unite: The Paradox of Pan-African Unity, will be completed in 2022. Additional areas of specialization include Africana political thought, Africana political movements, Black politics and political science, and African & Caribbean political thinkers.
Beyond his academic and scholarly record, Dr. Young is also grounded in over two decades of community-level and grassroots-related research. He is the co-founder of the Institute for Research, Evaluation & Policy Analysis (IREPA), a public policy research and studies services consulting firm based in Tampa, FL. IREPA’s specific areas of research include qualitative and quantitative community research and report services, analyses of demographic trends, community and economic development, civic engagement projects, and housing policy research and analysis. Noted studies and projects include the Florida Communities Assessment and Economic Development Study, the Lakeland Housing Authority Resident Advisory Association Leadership Development Project, the Tampa Housing Authority HOPE VI Belmont Heights Estates Revitalization Study, the University Area Community Development Corporation’s Anti-Crime Study, and the Hillsborough County Comprehensive Planning Project. Dr. Young also served on the City of Atlanta Blue Ribbon Commission on the 1996 Olympic Park Bombing.
Dr. Young is a member of KMT Asen, Inc. and a founding member of the Pan-Africa Circle, based at the Clark Atlanta University
Department of Political Science. Dr. Young serves on the Board of the Walter Rodney Foundation. Academic and institutional affiliations
include the African Heritage Studies Association, the National Conference of Black Political Scientists, and the National Council for Black Studies. Selected international travel includes Accra, Ghana; Saint Martin; Port-au-Spain, Trinidad and Tobago; Belize City, Belize; and London, England;