Spencer Overton

Spencer Overton is the Patricia Roberts Harris Research Professor at GW Law School and has published and taught extensively on democracy and race. He is also the founder and faculty director of the GW Law Multiracial Democracy Project, which is currently researching and convening stakeholders on the implications for multiracial democracy that stem from: 1) artificial intelligence; and 2) continued challenges to Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Professor Overton led efforts to expand democracy while serving in senior policy positions on the Obama 2008 campaign and transition team and in the Obama Administration. He was also president of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies—America’s Black think tank—where he worked closely with the Congressional Black Caucus on racially equitable policies and political appointments. Overton practiced law at Debevoise & Plimpton, clerked for U.S. Court of Appeals Judge Damon Keith, and graduated with honors from both Hampton University and Harvard Law School.