Channing Gerard Joseph

Channing Gerard Joseph is Ferris Professor of Journalism at Princeton University. He is renowned for his pioneering research on Black LGBTQ+ history, which brings to light forgotten stories of queer African Americans' resilience, resistance, and joy. He is also the discoverer of William Dorsey Swann, the world’s first documented drag queen and the leader of America’s earliest-known queer resistance group. Joseph’s innovative historical research has been recognized by the U.S. National Archives and the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture. In 2022, TED honored him as a TED Fellow — one of 20 global “visionaries” whose work is sparking “future-shaping change around the world.” Joseph has appeared on CBS This Morning, Comedy Central's The Daily Show, BBC World News, Germany's Deutsche Welle, and Canada's CBC, among other international media outlets. His work also garnered a number of prestigious honors, including awards and fellowships from the American Academy in Berlin, Harvard University, Columbia University, and the Whiting Foundation, among others. An award-winning journalist, Joseph's writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Nation, The Oxford American, and many other periodicals. Through storytelling and scholarship, Joseph reshapes public understanding of queer and African American history, inspiring audiences to reflect on identity, justice, and the power of overlooked voices to change the world.