Allyson Hobbs graduated from Harvard University and earned a PhD in history at the University of Chicago. Her dissertation explored the concept of racial passing in American history and formed the basis for her future research. She is a historian, author, associate professor and director of African and African American studies at Stanford University.
Hobbs is also the author of A Chosen Exile: A History of Racial Passing in American Life. She is preparing two books for publication: Nowhere to Run: African American Travel in Twentieth Century America, which examines the indignities, exhilaration, and freedom that African American motorists experienced. And To Tell the Terrible, which examines black women’s testimonies against and collective memory of sexual
violence.
Hobbs publishes essays in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, and The New York Times. She also appears on NPR, PBS, MSNBC, C-SPAN and The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss historical and contemporary issues of race and justice