Wesley Jackson Chenault (1968- ) was born to Carol Chenault (1948- ) and Don Chenault (1943- ). He attended Auburn University, graduating in 1992 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. In 2007 he received his Master of Arts in Women's Studies from Georgia State University, writing a thesis entitled "Working the Margins: Women in the Comic Book Industry." From 2004-2008, during his doctoral studies, Chenault was an archivist at Atlanta History Center's Kenan Research Center. In 2008, Chenault received his Doctorate in American Studies at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque. His final thesis was entitled An Unspoken Past: Atlanta Lesbian and Gay History, 1940-1970. In the same year he published his book, Gay and Lesbian Atlanta. Betwen 2008 and 2011, Chenault worked on African American culture and history at the Auburn Avenue Research Libary as the Library Research Associate. In 2011, Chenault began working at Virginia Commonwealth University as a professor and Head of the Special Collections and Archives at the James Branch Cabell Library.