Clarence Lang

Clarence Lang is the Susan Welch Dean of the College of the Liberal Arts and a Professor of African American Studies at The Pennsylvania State University. His work focuses on Black urban history, civil rights movements, and the intersection of race, class, and politics in the United States.

• Author of Grassroots at the Gateway: Class Politics and Black Freedom Struggle in St. Louis, 1936–75
• Author of Black America in the Shadow of the Sixties: Notes on the Civil Rights Movement, Neoliberalism, and Politics
• Co-editor of Black Urban History at the Crossroads: Race and Place in the American City

Lang's research bridges historical and contemporary analyses of African American urban experiences, examining self-determination, economic structures, cultural development, and political activism across centuries of Black urban life. His scholarship highlights the evolution of Black communities from preindustrial to postindustrial cities.

He holds a leadership role in academia as a dean while maintaining active engagement in teaching and research within African American Studies. Institutions and scholars frequently collaborate with him on interdisciplinary projects exploring race and urban history.