This essay is based on a talk that the author gave in a plenary session at the January 2024 ASSA economic association meetings in San Antonio Texas in honor of Bill Spriggs. The plenary session was entitled, Thinking Like an Inclusive Economist: Theory and Representation in Economics, In Memory of William E. Spriggs (1955–2023). The author uses personal narratives to discuss the implications of lack of representation of African Americans within the economics profession by drawing on Bill Spriggs’ powerful open letter to the economics profession as a basis for assessing inclusion within heterodox economics.
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