Professor of History, Stanford University
Director, Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute

Dr. Clayborne Carson has devoted his professional life to the study of Martin Luther King, Jr., and the movements King inspired. Since receiving his doctorate from UCLA in 1975, Dr. Carson has taught at Stanford University, where he is now professor of history and founding director of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute. He is also Martin Luther King, Jr. Distinguished Professor at Morehouse College in Atlanta and serves as Executive Director of that institution's Morehouse King Collection. Dr. Carson has been a visiting professor or visiting fellow at American University, the University of California, Berkeley, Emory University, Harvard University, and the Center for the Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford.
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The King Institute's Director will teach a course at Morehouse College this fall based on that institution's vast collection of King's personal papers and featuring in-class interviews with King associates and veterans of the civil rights movement. Read more

This week Dr. King’s son, Martin Luther King III, will commemorate his parents’ historic journey to India. Organized by the U.S. Department of State, King III will be accompanied by members of U.S. Congress, including John Lewis, the last surviving speaker from the 1963 March on Washington; Clayborne Carson, editor of King’s papers; and jazz musician Herbie Hancock. The Hindu, India's national newspaper, reflects on this historic event.

CBS Producer Cesar Chavez visited Stanford's Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute 26 January to interview Director Clayborne Carson as part of a series of thirty minute public service announcements in commemoration of February's rich history month. The interview will air on CBS 5 and the CW44, Cable 12 through the month of February.

Dr. Clayborne Carson, Professor of History and founding Director of the Martin Luther King, Jr., Research and Education Institute at Stanford University, spoke on "The Global Vision and Legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr." to a packed Wilkins Moot Courtroom on February 4 as the UC Davis School of Law launched the new California International Law Center at King Hall (CILC).

Tuscaloosa residents will have more than one civil rights milestone to celebrate next week, when Martin Luther King Jr. Day is observed and the country inaugurates its first black president. Clayborne Carson, professor of history and director of the King Papers Project at Stanford University, will share his views on the global impact of King’s work. Carson, who is compiling King’s speeches, notes and papers into a 14-volume collection, will provide insight into King’s lesser-known works.

In his article published in the L.A. Watts Times and Times of India, Stanford history Professor, Clayborne Carson, discusses Obama's link with King and Gandhi. Carson's article honors the synchronicity between the fiftieth anniversary of King's pilgrimage to India, and the inauguration of President Obama.

Morehouse College announced that it has digitized and archived three-quarters of a major collection of the civil rights leader's works, that the city of Atlanta acquired in 2006. Stanford history Professor, Clayborne Carson expresses his excitement over the public project. Read more . . .

The Martin Luther King Jr. holiday is a chance to honor someone who had a lot to say about how to build a democracy from diversity, said Clayborne Carson, a professor of history at Stanford University.

Morehouse College President, Robert M. Franklin, announces the appointment of Clayborne Carson as Martin Luther King, Jr. Distinguished Professor and Executive Director of the Morehouse College Martin Luther King, Jr. Collection. See press conference