Mark Anthony Neal

Historian Mark Anthony Neal was born on December 2, 1965 in Bronx, New York to Arthur C. Neal Jr. and Elsie Robinson. Neal received his B.A. degree in English in 1987 and his M.A. degree in English in 1993 from the State University of New York at Fredonia. In 1996, Neal earned his Ph.D. degree in American Studies from the State University of New York at Buffalo.

After graduating with his Ph.D. degree, Neal worked as a visiting scholar at the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford in 1995 and, in 1996, as an assistant professor in the African American Studies Program at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. Neal was then hired as an assistant professor of Africana Studies and English at the State University of New York at Albany in 1997. In 2003, Neal joined the University of Texas at Austin as an associate professor of American Studies. Then, in 2004, Neal joined Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, where he was promoted to the James B. Duke distinguished professor of African American Studies and English in 2018.

Neal has published numerous book chapters, journal articles, and books including What the Music Said: Black Popular Music and Black Public Culture in 1998, Soul Babies: Contemporary Black Popular Culture and the Post-Soul Aesthetic in 2001, Songs in the Key of Black Life: A Rhythm and Blues Nation in 2003, New Black Man: Rethinking Black Masculinity in 2005, Looking for Leroy: Illegible Black Masculinities in 2013, New Black Man: 10th Anniversary Edition in 2015, and Black Ephemera: The Crisis and Challenge of the Musical Archive in 2022. Neal also served as a contributor for numerous publications including the HuffPost, The Root.com, Vibe.com, NPR News and Notes with Farai Chideya, SeeingBlack.com, and Popmatters.com. In 2005, Neal created his blog NewBlackMan (in Exile), where he served as the founder and managing editor.

In 2010, Neal created the Left of Black web series through the John Hope Franklin Center for International and Global Studies, the John Franklin Hope Humanities Institute, and Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. Neal also served as a member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and the Modern Language Association.

During his career, Neal received numerous awards and honors including a Distinguished Alumni Award from the State University of New York in 1997, the Robert B. Cox Award for Distinguished Teaching from Duke University in 2010, the Hip-Hop Scholar of the Year Award from the Words, Beats and Life Foundation in 2012, the Richard A. Yarborough Award from the Minority Scholars Committee of the American Studies Association in 2015, and the PROSE Award in the Music and Performing Arts Category for Black Ephemera from the Association of American Publishers in 2023.

Mark Anthony Neal was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on April 21, 2023.