McClendon is a professor in the Department of Philosophy at Michigan State University.
He holds a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Kansas, and taught at Binghamton University, Eastern Illinois University, University of Illinois Champaign/Urbana, Bates College, and the University of Missouri before coming to Michigan State University.
His areas of focus include African philosophy, marxist philosophy, philosophy of African-American studies, and the history of African-American philosophers.