Randall E. Auxier is a professor of philosophy and communication studies at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, a musician, environmental activist, union advocate, and candidate for the United States House of Representatives, nominated by the Green Party in the 12th Congressional District of Illinois. He is a radio host for WDBX Carbondale since 2001, a widely read author of popular philosophy, and also a co-founder and co-director of the AIPCT.
Born in Leitchfield, Kentucky, Auxier is the younger of two children, the son of a veterinarian, Charles David Auxier and a professional church musician, Eileen Gunter Auxier. Educated in the public schools of Memphis, Tennessee, he grew up during and was deeply affected by, the civil rights movement. He was one of the many students who were bused to integrated schools by court orders that resulted from Brown v. Board of Education. Auxier was in first grade when Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, and the event had a continual impact on him and the region he lived in.