He is Professor of History at Rochester Institute of Technology and biographer of African Methodist Episcopal Church founder Richard Allen.
Newman's work has reshaped both African-American History and Early American History by unpacking the ways in which revolutionary era blacks, in particular AME Church founder Richard Allen, contributed as "founding fathers.
"[2] The major thrust of his biography of Richard Allen was to describe how Allen was able to create lasting black institutions, initiate a tradition of black prophetic leadership and precipitate civic institutions that came to define the Early American Republic.
This historiographical emphasis coincides with a resurgence in scholarly interest in the white founders—those figures normally associated with the founding of the United States of America—challenging assumptions about the role of blacks in that process.
"[4] On top of receiving high praise in reviews, Freedom's Prophet won ForeWord’s Book of the Year Gold Award for Biography in 2009.