Hajar Yazdiha

Hajar Yazdiha (born 1983) is an American sociologist focusing on the politics of inclusion and exclusion with regard to ethno-racial identities. She is the author of the 2023 book, The Struggle for the People's King: How Politics Transforms the Memory of the Civil Rights Movement.

Early life and education Yazdiha was born in Berlin to refugees from Iran. She was particularly interested in the work of Black writers, including W.E.B. du Bois, James Baldwin, and Audre Lorde. She is affiliated with the school's Equity Research Institute.

In May 2023, Yazdiha published her first book,The Struggle for the People's King: How Politics Transforms the Memory of the Civil Rights Movement, which explores how the words of Martin Luther King Jr. have been co-opted and sanitized. She was first inspired to write the book when reading coverage of the Abigail Fisher case against the University of Texas at Austin, in which she saw the words of King "were being misappropriated to claim affirmative action was anti-white racism." The Hill, the Los Angeles Times, and Time.

Selected publications

Selected honors and recognition 2023 — CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar 2022 — Louis Wirth Best Article Award, Section on International Migration, American Sociological Association 2022 — Ford Foundation postdoctoral fellowship