Lucius Outlaw

Professor Lucius Turner Outlaw, Jr. was born on December 28, 1944 to Lillie Mae Outlaw and Lucius Turner Outlaw, Sr. in Starkville, Mississippi. He received his B.A. degree in philosophy from Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee in 1967 and his Ph.D. degree in philosophy from Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts in 1972.

After completing his Ph.D. degree, Outlaw was hired as an assistant professor at Fisk University before being promoted to associate professor. In 1977, he joined Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland as an associate professor before leaving to join the faculty of Haverford College in Haverford, Pennsylvania in 1980. There, Outlaw first served as an associate professor and then as a professor. He taught as a visiting associate professor at Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia between 1986 and 1987, and as the Honorable David S. Nelson Professor at Boston College between 1996 and 1998. In 2000, Outlaw was hired as a professor at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. At Vanderbilt, Outlaw served as the Joseph A. Johnson, Jr. Distinguished Leadership Professor and as the W. Alton Jones Chair and professor emeritus.

Outlaw was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa in 1967. He joined the American Philosophical Association in 1970, where he served as a general member, a member of the board of officers, a member of numerous committees, and as a committee chairperson. Outlaw has also been a member of the North American Society for Social and Political Philosophy and the Agora Assembly. Outlaw’s publications include On Race and Philosophy and Critical Social Theory in the Interests of Black Folks.

Outlaw has received numerous recognitions for his professional achievements. In 2000, he was awarded the Christian R. and Mary F. Lindback Foundation Award for Teaching from Haverford College, and in 2002, he received the Chancellor’s Cup from Vanderbilt University. He was honored with the John Dewey Lecture at the Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association annual meeting in 2011. Outlaw has also received the Dr. William R. Jones Award from the 20th Annual Philosophy Born of Struggle Conference at Purdue University in 2013 and an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Allegheny College in 2014.

Outlaw and his wife, Freida, reside in Nashville, Tennessee. They have three sons: Lucius Turner Outlaw, III, Kofi Outlaw, and Chike Hasani-Hopkins Outlaw. They also have four grandchildren.

Lucius Turner Outlaw, Jr. was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on December 12, 2024.