The Atlantic · Aug 10, 2026

The Atlantic ’s September Cover: Tyler Austin Harper’s “Confessions of a Token Black Professor”

For The Atlantic ’s September cover story, staff writer Tyler Austin Harper writes about how he came to lose faith in academia, chronicling his recent career as a professor and his decision to leave his tenure-track position after five years at Bates College in Maine. The school’s culture encouraged us to see professors of color as vehicles for achieving the college’s diversity goals.