Fred L. McGhee

Historical & Maritime Archaeologist; Founder & President of Fred L. McGhee & Associates; Author of "Two Texas Race Riots"

Austin, TX, USA
Live Event: $5,000 - $10,000 Virtual Event: $5,000 - $10,000 More Fee Info
Anti-Racism, Art & Design, Author, Black Heritage, Black History Month, Civil Rights, Culture, DEI, History, Non-Fiction Authors, Research & Exploration, Social Activism, Social Justice, Social Sciences
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Fred L. McGhee Biography

Fred L. McGhee is a historical and maritime archaeologist and an urban and environmental anthropologist whose work integrates scholarship with social justice. McGhee was the first African American to earn a doctorate in maritime archaeology and the first African American archaeologist to do so at the University of Texas at Austin. He holds a Bachelor of Science in the linguistics of American Sign Language from Northeastern University in Boston, as well as a Master of Arts and a doctorate in anthropology from the University of Texas at Austin. McGhee is the founder and president of Fred L. McGhee & Associates, recognized as the first Black-owned and operated archaeological and environmental consulting company in the United States.

McGhee's expertise includes the maritime dimension of the African diaspora, with a focus on the roles of African and African American slave trading in the conquest and colonization of the Americas. As a maritime archaeologist, McGhee authored the paper "Toward a Postcolonial Nautical Archaeology," which is taught in introductory underwater archaeology programs. His review of Marcus Rediker's book "The Slave Ship" has been widely circulated. McGhee is the author of several books, including "Two Texas Race Riots," "Austin's Montopolis Neighborhood," and "The Black Crop: Slavery and Slave Trading in 19th Century Texas." His publications cover topics such as slave ship archaeology, Afro-Texas history, modernist architecture, residential energy efficiency, language acquisition, Black American Sign Language, German colonialism, the African diaspora in Hawaii and the Pacific, public housing history and architecture, and home birthing.

As an urban anthropologist and the last Mike Hogg Fellow with the Urban Issues Program at the University of Texas, McGhee contributed to establishing the university's undergraduate degree program in urban studies and its doctoral portfolio. He is recognized for his work on the history of African Americans in public housing, environmental justice, and community development. McGhee has collaborated with public housing resident councils, civic organizations, and nonprofit organizations in multiple cities. He nominated Santa Rita Courts, the nation's oldest USHA public housing project, to the National Register of Historic Places and received a Heritage Society of Austin Award for this work. His nomination of Rosewood Courts, the first USHA housing project built for African Americans, was also entered into the National Register.

In the early 2000s, McGhee served as chief archaeologist for the Air Force in Hawaii, where he established the archaeological portion of the Air Force's cultural resource management program. His base received the Department of Defense environmental stewardship award for its cultural resource management program. McGhee has been recognized by the State of Texas for his work with the Texas Slave Descendants Society, highlighting the history of plantation agriculture, slavery, and convict leasing in Sugar Land, as well as for his historic preservation and environmental justice advocacy with the South Texas Alliance of Indigenous Peoples in Corpus Christi. He received the Outstanding Leadership Award from the Austin branch of the NAACP for founding Preserve Rosewood, a coalition focused on preserving and upgrading Austin's historic Rosewood Courts public housing project.

McGhee is a pioneer in community-based archaeology and is known for his activist approach to theory, research, and practice. He serves as adjunct associate professor of anthropology at Austin Community College and as president of the Montopolis Community Development Corporation, leading initiatives in affordable housing, heritage conservation, environmental protection, community education, and advocacy. His projects include "Tarnish on the Violet Crown: The Rise and Fall of Public Housing in Austin, Texas," "Nothing Without Work," an oral history of the U.S. Navy's BOOST program, and a biography of Texas governor Elisha Marshall Pease.

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Speaker profile last updated by AAE Talent Team on 10/09/2026.
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The Black Crop Slavery and Slave Trading in Nineteenth Century Texas
The Black Crop Slavery and Slave Trading in Nineteenth Century Texas
Two Texas race riots
Two Texas race riots
Austin's Montopolis Neighborhood (Images of America)
Austin's Montopolis Neighborhood (Images of America)

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Fred L. McGhee is a keynote speaker and industry expert who speaks on a wide range of topics. The estimated speaking fee range to book Fred L. McGhee for your event is available upon request. Fred L. McGhee generally travels from Austin, TX, USA and can be booked for (private) corporate events, personal appearances, keynote speeches, or other performances. Similar motivational celebrity speakers are Dr. Yohuru Williams, Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor, Clayborne Carson, Alice Walker and Bobby Seale. Contact All American Speakers for ratings, reviews, videos and information on scheduling Fred L. McGhee for an upcoming live or virtual event.

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