Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham

Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham is a distinguished American historian and leading scholar of African American and women’s history. She is widely recognized for her groundbreaking research on Black religious, social, and political life, particularly in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Dr. Higginbotham is the Victor S. Thomas Professor of History and of African and African American Studies at Harvard University. Her scholarship has helped reshape the field by centering the experiences, leadership, and intellectual traditions of Black women. She is best known for her influential book Righteous Discontent: The Women’s Movement in the Black Baptist Church, 1880–1920, which introduced the concept of the “politics of respectability” and remains a foundational text in American history and gender studies.

Throughout her career, she has held major academic leadership roles, including serving as Chair of Harvard’s Department of African and African American Studies and as Editor-in-Chief of The Harvard Guide to African American History. Her work consistently bridges history, culture, religion, and social movements, offering deep insight into how communities organize, resist inequality, and build institutions.

Dr. Higginbotham has received numerous honors for her scholarship and service, including fellowships from major academic foundations and election to prestigious scholarly societies. Beyond her research, she is known as a dedicated mentor and educator, committed to advancing diversity, intellectual rigor, and public engagement in higher education.

Her work continues to influence historians, policymakers, and educators seeking to understand the intersections of race, gender, faith, and democracy in American life.