Dr. Philip V. McHarris is a Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at Princeton University in the Department of African American Studies and the Ida B. Wells Just Data Lab. Philip’s main areas of research include racial inequality, housing, and policing. His current research focuses on the experiences of residents of a high-rise public housing development in Brooklyn, NY as they navigate concerns surrounding safety, policing, building conditions, and cycles of poverty. 

In another line of research, Philip examines the causes and consequences of the large-scale expansion of policing in the United States since 1965 and the strategies that communities employ to challenge police expansion and end police violence. Philip draws on qualitative and quantitative methods throughout his research. 

Philip completed his PhD in Sociology and African American Studies at Yale University in 2021, and was a recipient of the Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship and the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship. He received his B.A. in Sociology from Boston College. In addition to his scholarly work, Philip has written for outlets that include The New York Times, Washington Post, Slate, The Guardian, MTV, and Nickelodeon. He has been featured on HBO, CNN, TIME, PBS, and other media outlets. In 2020, Philip was selected as one of the Root 100 Most Influential African Americans.