Dr. Cleve V. Tinsley IV earned his PhD in religion from Rice University's African-American religion concentration in August 2019. His dissertation “Making Black Lives Matter: Race and Religion in Contemporary Struggles for African-American Identity” explores the relationship between religion and ongoing black freedom struggles in the US. In it, he argues that understanding the sociological significance and meaning of African-American religious struggle requires more extensive research strategies given the complex nature of religious meaning-making in the lives of African Americans today.

Cleve currently works as a post-doctoral research affiliate with the Center for Engaged Research and Collaborative Learning (CERCL) and a visiting research fellow in Rice's Religion and Public Life Program (RPLP). In addition to his research and programming responsibilities with these groups, Cleve is also working on his first manuscript based on his thesis.