Matthew L. Harris is Professor of History and Director of Legal Studies at Colorado State University-Pueblo. His many books include Second-Class Saints: Black Mormons and the Struggle for Racial Equality, Watchman on the Tower: Ezra Taft Benson and the Making of the Mormon Right, The LDS Gospel Topics Series: A Scholarly Engagement, Thunder from the Right: Ezra Taft Benson in Mormonism and Politics, The Mormon Church and Blacks: A Documentary History, Zebulon Pike, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West, and The Founding Fathers and the Debate over Religion in Revolutionary America.

He received a B.A. and M.A. in history from Brigham Young University and an M.Phil. and Ph.D., also in history, from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University.

Harris’s teaching and scholarship explores the intersectionality of religion and law, race and religion, civil rights and race construction, and right-wing extremism and American politics, particularly among religious groups. An award-winning professor, Harris teaches classes on Church and State, Civil Rights, the Constitution, African American History, US Legal History, and American Religions. His classes have been broadcast on CSPAN and his research has been covered by a variety of media outlets, including the Religious News Service, CSPAN, National Public Radio, Salt Lake Tribune, Longreads, and others. In addition, he has appeared on numerous podcasts, discussing his research on the LDS church and race, right-wing extremism, and civil rights.

He joined the History Department at Colorado State University-Pueblo in 2005 and was Chair of the Department from 2010-13 and Director of Graduate Studies in History from 2009-16. In 2009, he was awarded the University Award for Excellence in Teaching, the university’s top teaching award. In 2010 and again in 2017, he was awarded the University Award for Excellence in Scholarly and Creative Activity, the university’s top award for research and publication. And, in 2010 and 2024, he was awarded the Students’ Choice Award, the university’s top award by graduating students.

Harris lives in Pueblo, Colorado, with his family.