Dr. Austin McCoy received his PhD in history from the University of Michigan and is currently an Assistant Professor of History at West Virginia University. His current manuscript project, tentatively titled, The Quest for Democracy:  Black Power, New Left, and Progressive Politics in the Post-Industrial Midwest revises conventional explanations emphasizing the separation and decline of Black Power and the New Left in the U.S. during the 1970s and 1980s by looking at case studies of activists organizing for participatory democracy in urban development, foreign policy, and the industrial economy. Dr. McCoy is also the author of numerous articles, both for academic journals and for the public. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, Nursing Clio, Black Perspectives, CNN, and Truthout.