James R. Morgan III is a graduate of Howard University in Washington, D.C. where he completed his undergraduate studies in Communications and Africana Studies. He is the recipient of the 2019 Dr. Charles H. Wesley Medal of History, the 2020 Phyllis Wheatley Book Award for Non-Fiction Biography and a 2021 International AAHGS Book Award.

James is an active Prince Hall Freemason and as such he serves as Worshipful Grand Historian & Archivist of the Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of the District of Columbia. He has authored several scholarly writings on African American Freemasonry, fraternalism and genealogy. He is also an Honorary Fellow and Life Member of the Phylaxis Research Society.

James is an experienced genealogist and is a member of the James Dent Walker Chapter of the African American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS). He has presented at the 2016 International Black Genealogy Symposium as well as at the 2019 National Conference of AAHGS. James serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the Bishop Henry McNeal Turner Project. He is the author of the award-winning book: The Lost Empire: Black Freemasonry in the Old West (1867-1906). James was named as one of the first (of three) awardees of the inaugural Paul E. Sluby Sr. African American Scholarship by the Board for Certification of Genealogists.

James is a Co-Panelist on both Black Pro Gen-Live and the Prince Hall Think Tank, both of which can be found on Youtube. He is currently employed with the United States Department of State and serves as a Curatorial Consultant with the African American Civil War Museum in Washington, DC.