Rev. Chester J. Fontenot, Jr., Ph.D.

Professional Biographical Statement

Rev. Chester J. Fontenot, Jr. was the Baptist Professor of English and Director of the African American Studies Program at Mercer University. He earned a B.A. from Whittier College, a Ph. D. from the University of California at Irvine, and post-doctoral study from the University of California at Irvine, Christian Theological Seminary, and Yale University. He has published 9 books, over 60 articles, and numerous book reviews and newspaper articles. He has received numerous awards, including Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities, the National Student Register, Who’s Who Among Black Americans, The Directory of American Scholars, Contemporary Living Authors, Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in the 21st Century, Who’s Who in American Education, Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers, and his biography is included in the National Biographical Center in London, England. He has earned a national and international reputation in his fields of academic research and has lectured at more than 40 universities in the United States and as a visiting scholar at 6 universities in 4 countries abroad. For 10 years he served as the Secretary for the Education Committee for the Honorable Amina Salum Ali, the African Union Embassador to the United States.
This culminated with his contributions to the development of the digital Pan African University. He is the general editor of the Mercer University Press book series, “Voices of the African Diaspora”. Dr. Fontenot partnered with Erica Woodford and Stephanie Miller, Clerks of the Bibb County Superior Court, to develop a research project co-sponsored by the Clerk’s Office of the Bibb County Superior Court and the Africana Studies Program at Mercer University. This ground-breaking research project uncovered nearly 1000 slave transaction records that exist in the Property Deed Records in the archives of the Superior Court. These records will be available to the public for genealogical, teaching, and research purposes. He has also served as a consultant for more than 20 years for multiculturalism, diversity, and inclusiveness efforts by institutions. For 3 years he created and hosted “A Closer Look,” a community informational talk show on the Macon City’s government channel. Dr. Fontenot is an ordained minister and former Pastor of Baptist Churches in Indiana and Illinois. Retiring from university life after 49 years—the last 25 at Mercer University–he will continue his ministry as an itinerant minister, public speaker, writer, and community worker.
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