Lindsey Bestebreurtje is a Curatorial Assistant with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture. This interview is based on her new book, Built by the People Themselves: African American Community Development in Arlington, Virginia, from the Civil […]
segregation
The Author’s Corner with Hettie V. Williams
Hettie V. Williams is Professor of History at the University of Massachusetts, Boston and Director of the William Monroe Trotter Institute for the Study of Black Culture. This interview is based on her new book, The Georgia of the North: […]
The Author’s Corner with Oliver A. Rosales
Oliver A. Rosales is Professor of History at Bakersfield College. This interview is based on his new book, Civil Rights in Bakersfield: Segregation and Multiracial Activism in the Central Valley (University of Texas Press, 2024). JF: What led you to […]
The Author’s Corner with Matthew L. Harris
Matthew L. Harris is Professor of History and Director of Legal Studies at Colorado State University – Pueblo. This interview is based on his new book, Second-Class Saints: Black Mormons and the Struggle for Racial Equality (Oxford University Press, 2024). JF: […]
The Author’s Corner with Michael T. Bertrand
Michael T. Bertrand is Professor of History at Tennessee State University. This interview is based on his new book, Southern History Remixed: On Rock ’n’ Roll and the Dilemma of Race (University Press of Florida, 2024). JF: What led you […]
The Author’s Corner with Kevin McQueeney
Kevin McQueeney is Assistant Professor of History at Nicholls State University. This interview is based on his new book, A City without Care: 300 Years of Racism, Health Disparities, and Health Care Activism in New Orleans (University of North Carolina […]
What happened when a black rabbit and a white rabbit got married?
Here is historian Cynthia Greenlee at The New York Times: In May 1959, the former Alabama schoolteacher Dora Haynes Parker mused about the sexual habits and matrimonial customs of rabbits in a letter to her hometown newspaper, The Montgomery Advertiser. […]
The Author’s Corner with Samantha Barbas
Samantha Barbas is Professor of Legal History and Director of the Baldy Center for Law and Social Policy at the University at Buffalo School of Law. This interview is based on her new book, Actual Malice: Civil Rights and Freedom […]
What it was like to be a Black man playing for the Kansas City Chiefs in the 1960s?
Here is Mark Dent at The Washington Post: When Mike Garrett, a Heisman Trophy winner from the University of Southern California, was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in 1966, the only thing he knew about his new home was the […]
In 1970, Mississippi banned Sesame Street
Here is Kristin Hunt at The Washington Post: In April 1970, members of Mississippi’s newly formed State Commission for Educational Television met to discuss Big Bird and Cookie Monster. “Sesame Street” had debuted on public TV the previous November, and […]
Black pastor confronts Robert Jeffress on the legacy of racism at First Baptist-Dallas
Robert Jeffress, the Trump-loving pastor of Dallas’s First Baptist Church, should get credit for showing-up at this event. It’s a step in the right direction. Here is Matt Goodman at Dallas Magazine: Monday evening at SMU’s Dallas Hall, Dr. Michael Waters, […]
How private interests led the way on urban segregation in America
Historian Colin Gordon argues that the federal housing policies contributed to segregation in cities, but private interests led the way. Here is a taste of his piece at Dissent: Recent scholarship and reporting on racial disparities in the United States […]
Desegregating bowling alleys
Check out Ashawnta Jackson’s piece at JSTOR Daily: In 1968, students from South Carolina State College, a historically Black college in Orangeburg, attempted to enter a segregated bowling alley in town. The alley was closed by police for the night. […]
John Marshall Harlan: The lone dissenter in Plessy v. Ferguson
Here is Peter Canellos at The New York Times. His forthcoming book is titled The Great Dissenter: The Story of John Marshall Harlan, American Judicial Hero. A taste: The Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, announced 125 years ago Tuesday, […]
A Texas state representative defends the phrase “purity of the ballot box.” It does not go well.
Watch: The Washington Post has it covered: Early on in a contentious night of debate over a bill that would create newvoting restrictions in Texas, state Rep. Rafael AnchĂa (D) zeroed in on what he called a “peculiar term.” The bill said […]