Joe William Trotter Jr.

Joe William Trotter Jr. is the Giant Eagle University Professor of History and Social Justice at Carnegie Mellon University. His scholarship focuses on African American labor history, urban studies, and social justice, with a particular emphasis on Pittsburgh and Appalachian regions.

Research Interests: Trotter's work explores the intersection of race, labor, and urban development, examining how Black communities have shaped and been shaped by economic systems, civil rights movements, and urban inequality from the Atlantic slave trade to contemporary postindustrial cities.

Publications: He is the author of notable works including Workers on Arrival: Black Labor in the Making of America, Pittsburgh and the Urban League Movement: A Century of Social Service and Activism, and African American Workers and the Appalachian Coal Industry, which collectively analyze the socio-economic and cultural dynamics of Black urban and labor experiences.

Co-edited Volume: Trotter co-edited the anthology Black Urban History at the Crossroads: Race and Place in the American City, which synthesizes interdisciplinary scholarship on the Black urban experience across three centuries.