Richard Iton

Richard Iton ( - April 21, 2013) was a professor of African American studies at Northwestern University, who was nationally known for his work on the ways black popular culture forged community and affected politics. A political scientist by training, Iton is most known for his 2008 book, “In Search of the Black Fantastic: Politics and Popular Culture in the Post-Civil Rights Era” (Oxford University Press, 2008), which explores the relationship between popular culture and institutionalized politics.