Michael K. Fauntroy
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Michael K. Fauntroy (born April 11, 1966) is an American public policy professor, columnist, and political commentator. He currently serves as an assistant professor of public policy at George Mason University (GMU), where he teaches graduate courses in urban policy and U.S. national policy systems and specializes in race and American politics. He is a regular media commentator on local and national issues and his commentary has been heard or seen on national radio and television networks such as The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, ABC News, Radio One, the British Broadcasting Corporation, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, National Public Radio, Pacifica Radio, and XM Satellite Radio. He has also appeared local radio and television stations in Chicago, Illinois; Denver, Colorado; Houston, Texas; Tampa, Florida; and Washington, D.C. He is also a weekly contributor to the Cliff Kelley Show on WVON-AMin Chicago.
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[edit] Background
Fauntroy was born in Washington, D.C. to Kenneth and Sarah Fauntroy. He graduated from the District of Columbia public schools. He is a graduate of Hampton University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science. He is also a graduate of Howard University, where he earned a Master's Degree in Public Affairs, specializing in public administration and public policy analysis and a Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Political Science. At Howard, he studied under Professors Joseph P. McCormick, 2nd and Ronald Walters, among others.
He married the former Lisa Williams on September 11, 1999. Lisa Fauntroy is a Senior Vice President of Legal Affairs at Discovery Communications, the parent company of a number of domestic and international cable television networks including the Discover Channel, TLC, and Animal Planet. Lisa Fauntroy is the highest ranking African American attorney in the history of Discovery Communications. Michael Fauntroy has one brother, Kevin Fauntroy, who is a health care technician in Newport News, VA. Kevin Fauntroy lives with his family in Tidewater Virginia. Michael Fauntroy is a nephew of Reverend, civil rights activist, and former member of Congress Walter E. Fauntroy.
Michael Fauntroy is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. and is an active member of the Washington (DC) Alumni Chapter. He is the third member of his family to become a Kappa, following his uncle Walter Fauntroy (a 1953 initiate of the the Virginia Union University Chapter, the Alpha Gamma of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc.) and his father Kenneth Fauntroy (a 1955 initiate of the Central State University Chapter, the Delta Zeta of Kappa Alpha Psi, Fraternity, Inc.).
[edit] Career
Fauntroy joined the faculty at GMU in 2002. Prior to joining GMU, he was an analyst in American national government at the Congressional Research Service,where he provided research and consultations for members and committees of Congress. His primary research area was District of Columbia governance and he authored or co-authored numerous reports and memoranda on a wide range of issues concerning the District. From 1993 to 1996, he was a civil rights analyst at the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, where he conducted research on major civil rights issues. He also monitored developments in selected civil rights areas such as voting rights and redistricting, and employment barriers to minorities and women at the highest levels of business.
Fauntroy has taught at numerous institutions including the University of the District of Columbia, Howard University, Trinity University, and American University. He taught the first course ever offered at Trinity on the politics and governance of the District of Columbia. He is an in-demand public speaker. Recent appearances include an appearance atDominican University on February 15, 2007, the Color Colorado Conference (sponsored by Progressive Majority) in Denver, Colorado on February on February 17, 2007, and at the Pre-Kwanzaa Festival in Chicago, Illinois in December 2006. He has also lectured abroad, most recently at the West African Research Center in Dakar, Senegal.
Fauntroy's most recent book book, Republicans and the Black Vote was published in January 2007 and examined how the Republican Party has lost its African American support. It is a clear analysis of the ways in which the Republican Party has used political symbolism and policy positions to repel Black voters. He discussed the book on February 5, 2007 at the Progressive Majority in a session that has been aired on C-SPAN2. His first book, Home Rule or House Rule? Congress and the Erosion of Local Governance in the District of Columbia, was published in 2003. It examined the relationship between the U.S. government and the city of Washington, emphasizing the political disenfranchisement of the local residents of the nation’s capital.
His columns have been published in The Huffington Post, The Washington Times, Tom Paine,The Black Commentator, The Chicago Defender, The Washington Times, The New Pittsburgh Courier and The Topeka Capital-Journal. Fauntroy has also appeared on notable television news programs including, but not limited to, the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, "Your Morning" on CN8, and "Eye on Washington". Fauntroy’s writings tend to be just left of center. However, he has not hesitated to criticize the left and point out their hypocrisy as he did in a March 10, 2006 column in The Washington Times criticizing the dearth of Black and Brown writers who post on The Huffington Post.
He runs his own website, www.MichaelFauntroy.com, that serves as a clearinghouse for his columns on race, politics, and society.
[edit] Books
Michael Fauntroy has published two books:
Republicans and the Black Vote, 2007, ISBN 1-58826-470-X
Home Rule or House Rule? Congress and the Erosion of Local Governance in the District of Columbia, 2003 ISBN 0-7618-2714-5
