Donna Murch

Donna Murch is an Associate Professor of History at Rutgers University, where she has been teaching since 2004. She served as the chapter president of the New Brunswick chapter of the Rutgers AAUP AFT from 2020 to 2024.

Her research focuses on African-American and US History, with specializations in Black Radicalism and the History of Mass Incarceration. Professor Murch teaches undergraduate courses in history methodology, black urban history, histories of the Movement for Black Lives/Black Lives Matter, and on drug consumption and criminalization. At the graduate level, she teaches research and writing courses and a colloquium entitled "Race, Criminalization and the Carceral State."

Professor Murch is the author of two major books: "Assata Taught Me: State Violence, Racial Capitalism, and the Movement for Black Lives" (Haymarket Books, 2022) and "Living for the City: Migration, Education, and the Rise of the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California" (University of North Carolina Press, 2010), which won the Phillis Wheatley prize in 2011. She is currently completing a new trade press book entitled "Capitalism Plus Dope: Policing the Crisis and the War on Drugs in Los Angeles." Her scholarly work spans historical analysis of racial capitalism, state violence, and social movements, connecting historical scholarship with contemporary social justice issues.

• Phillis Wheatley prize (2011) for "Living for the City"
• 2011 Choice Outstanding Academic Title for "Living for the City"

Professor Murch has been actively engaged in academic labor organizing as president of the New Brunswick chapter of the Rutgers AAUP AFT from 2020 to 2024. Her public scholarship extends to major media outlets where she connects historical analysis with contemporary social justice movements and policy debates, particularly around labor rights, racial justice, and drug policy.

She maintains an active presence in both academic and public discourse, frequently contributing to publications like the Guardian, Boston Review, and appearing on major news networks including PBS News Hour, BBC, and CNN.