James Grossman is Executive Director of the American Historical Association. Formerly Vice-President for Research and Education at the Newberry Library, he has taught at University of Chicago and University of California, San Diego. Author of Land of Hope: Chicago, Black Southerners, and the Great Migration and A Chance to Make Good: African-Americans, 1900-1929, Grossman was project director and coeditor of the Encyclopedia of Chicago and is editor emeritus of the series "Historical Studies of Urban America.” Articles, short essays, and op eds focus on urban history, African American history, higher education, and the place of history in public culture.
Grossman’s books received awards from the Gustavus Myers Center for Human Rights, Illinois State Historical Society, NY Public Library and National Council for the Social Studies. Grossman was chosen in 2005 as one of seven "Chicagoans of the Year" by Chicago Magazine and has consulted for theater companies, films, museums, libraries, and foundations. His governing board service includes National Humanities Alliance, ACLS, AAC&U, and Center for Research Libraries.