In The Words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King: Where Do We Go From Here?

Dr. Smith currently serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Africology and African American Studies at Temple University. He is the author of “The Murder of Octavius Catto” (featured in the Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia 2015). Afrocentricity in Afrofuturism (University Press of Mississippi 2023) and the forthcoming, Afrocentricity, Generations of Theory in Practice (Universal Write Publishing 2025), Reading Du Bois: An Afrocentric Critique of the Color Line (SUNY Press 2025). His most recently published article, The HBCU Imperative, How Blacks Can Unite was published in Research Issues in Contemporary Education (2025). Doctor Smith has also published multiple entries in the Encyclopedia of African Cultural Heritage (2015) and a chapter on James Baldwin titled, “Boundless Baldwin” published in, Contemporary Critical Thought in Africology and Africana Studies.  His innovative artistic presentation style has gained him the name, “The Rapping Professor”.

Dr. Smith was awarded the Molefi Kete Asante Award for academic excellence and innovation in the field of African American Studies. Aaron X. Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in Asian Studies, a master’s degree in liberal arts, a master’s degree in African American Studies, and a master’s degree in Higher Education. Aaron X. Smith graduated with a PhD in African American Studies in 2015 and is currently poised to earn a second doctorate degree from the Higher Education Department at Temple University in 2026.  Aaron X. Smith is originally from Montclair, New Jersey and is a proud member of The Christian Church of Philadelphia, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Incorporated and Herbert E. Millen Masonic Lodge #151. He also proudly serves as an advisor for 5 on campus organizations including the NAACP, Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority Incorporated and Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity Incorporated, Epsilon Chapter.  Dr. Smith serves as a bord member for Progress Trust Incorporated and Friends of Howe House. The Rapping Professor Aaron Smith’s motto is, Learn More Love More.