About the Thora Institute

Mission Statement

The Thora Institute disseminates facts and analyses about black Americans for the purpose of improving the socioeconomic standing of black Americans. Thora Institute publications are geared toward refuting popular misconceptions about blacks and toward educating the public about the benefits of progressive public policy for blacks. The ultimate goal of the Thora Institute is a just, equitable and integrated society.

“Thora”?

In 1999, the mother of the founder, Judith Austin, passed away suddenly. Although her legal first name was Judith, she was known as Thora by family and close friends. The Institute is named Thora in memory of her.

Founder and Director

Algernon Austin
Mr. Austin received his Ph.D. in Sociology from Northwestern University in 2001 and was on the faculty of Wesleyan University from 2001 to 2005. In addition to his Thora Institute work, Mr. Austin is director of the Race, Ethnicity and the Economy Program at the Economic Policy Institute. He is the author of Achieving Blackness: Race, Black Nationalism, and Afrocentrism in the Twentieth Century and Getting It Wrong: How Black Public Intellectuals Are Failing Black America. He has published scholarly articles in Ethnic and Racial Studies, Qualitative Sociology, the Journal of African American Studies, and Race, Gender and Class.