Michael R. Fisher Jr. is an Assistant Professor of African American Studies in the College of Social Sciences at San José State University. He has served as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Department of Public Administration and Policy and an Affiliate Scholar at the Metropolitan Policy Center in the School of Public Affairs at American University. He has also served as a Smithsonian Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the National Museum of African American History and Culture. Before his career as an educator, Fisher was a public policy advocate in Washington, D.C. His policy portfolio included immigration reform and federal welfare programs for those struggling in poverty.