Author: Alyssa

Interview: Graham Russell Gao Hodges

David Ruggles (1810-1849) was one of the most heroic–and has been one of the most often overlooked–figures of the early abolitionist movement in America. Graham Russell Gao Hodges provides the first biography of this African American activist, writer, and publisher who secured liberty for more than six hundred former bond people, including Frederick Douglass. Hodges’s portrait of Ruggles establishes the… Continue Reading Interview: Graham Russell Gao Hodges

Highlights from First Amendment Day 2010

UNC celebrated its second annual First Amendment Day yesterday, and as predicted, it was an absolute smasheroo. The day began with the weather exercising its freedom of expression with sheets of rain, but only a few of the events were shifted inside before the drizzling tapered off. The events kicked off with a planting of a symbolic Liberty Tree next… Continue Reading Highlights from First Amendment Day 2010

A Womanist Reading of “Service: Panel 8—Dr. King and Ralph Abernathy” or “Anna Julia Cooper and Willa Player”

On July 26, a mural named SERVICE was dedicated at UNC’s School of Government in the Knapp-Sanders Building. The mural depicts a gathering of African-American leaders at the counter of a diner, painted by Colin Quashie as a creative interpretation of the historical 1960 Greensboro, North Carolina sit-in. We are featuring each of the eight panels in a series, highlighting… Continue Reading A Womanist Reading of “Service: Panel 8—Dr. King and Ralph Abernathy” or “Anna Julia Cooper and Willa Player”

Introducing the Farm Fresh North Carolina blog

This past weekend I took a trip back to my hometown of Oxford, N.C., to attend the North Carolina Hot Sauce Contest. The festival was fantastic – booth after booth of hot sauce vendors, wineries, and breweries from all over our great state. It’s rare for so many local producers to gather in one area, making the event that much… Continue Reading Introducing the Farm Fresh North Carolina blog

Award winners: Blair Kelley, Amy Wood, Charles Eagles

We’re delighted to share lots of good news today. The 2010 Lillian Smith Book Award has been awarded to two UNC Press books this year: Amy Louise Wood’s Lynching and Spectacle: Witnessing Racial Violence in America and Charles W. Eagles’s The Price of Defiance: James Meredith and the Integration of Old Miss. The prize, presented by the Southern Regional Council,… Continue Reading Award winners: Blair Kelley, Amy Wood, Charles Eagles

The Story of Service, Part 5: NC School Desegregation

On July 26, a mural named SERVICE was dedicated at UNC’s School of Government in the Knapp-Sanders Building. The mural depicting a gathering of African American leaders at the counter of a diner was painted by Colin Quashie as a creative interpretation of the historical 1960 Greensboro, North Carolina sit-in. We will be featuring each of the eight panels in… Continue Reading The Story of Service, Part 5: NC School Desegregation

The Story of Service, Part 4: Black Wall Street

On July 26, a mural named SERVICE was dedicated at UNC’s School of Government in the Knapp-Sanders Building. The mural depicts a gathering of African-American leaders at the counter of a diner, painted by Colin Quashie as a creative interpretation of the historical 1960 Greensboro, North Carolina sit-in. We will be featuring each of the eight panels in a series,… Continue Reading The Story of Service, Part 4: Black Wall Street

‘Confederate Minds’ and the Page 99 Test

We’ve previously mentioned the “Page 99 Test,” with which one can “Open the book to page ninety-nine and read, and the quality of the whole will be revealed to you,” according to Ford Madox Ford. Marshal Zeringue edits a blog that follows this theme, asking authors to test their books and analyze the content based on page 99. The authors… Continue Reading ‘Confederate Minds’ and the Page 99 Test

The starting lineup for The Journal of the Civil War Era

Back in April we mentioned a call for papers for the inaugural edition of The Journal of the Civil War Era, a peer-review journal published in collaboration with UNC Press and the George and Ann Richards Civil War Era Center at Pennsylvania State University. There’s been great response, and the issues are starting to take shape. We’ve got a special… Continue Reading The starting lineup for The Journal of the Civil War Era

UNC Press takes a field trip to see SERVICE

On July 26, a mural named SERVICE was dedicated at UNC’s School of Government in the Knapp-Sanders Building. The mural, depicting a gathering of African-American leaders at the counter of a diner, was painted by Colin Quashie as a creative interpretation of the historical 1960 Greensboro, North Carolina, sit-in. We will be featuring each of the eight panels in a… Continue Reading UNC Press takes a field trip to see SERVICE

The Story of SERVICE, Part 2

On July 26, a mural entitled SERVICE was dedicated at UNC’s School of Government in the Knapp-Sanders Building. The mural depicting a gathering of African-American figures from throughout North Carolina’s history seated at the counter of a diner was painted by Colin Quashie as a creative interpretation of the historic 1960 Greensboro, North Carolina sit-in. We’ll be posting about a… Continue Reading The Story of SERVICE, Part 2

No, Really! There’s an app for that!

Time for the obvious statement of the day: technology is difficult to keep up with because it changes so much. Let’s take an iPod for example: I bought my most recent player three years ago, and while it continues to faithfully entertain me with tunes, it has become outrageously outdated by newer iPods. New models can both record and play… Continue Reading No, Really! There’s an app for that!

Happy birthday, Supermarkets!

A few years ago I visited Italy with my family, sightseeing at the typical tourist destinations. The food scene was straight out of a movie: open air cafes lining the streets and fresh markets on every corner. When we traveled to a smaller town in the north, we noticed something we hadn’t seen in the metropolises: supermarkets. The stores could… Continue Reading Happy birthday, Supermarkets!

The Story of SERVICE, Part 1

A mural painted by Colin Quashie is on display at the Knapp-Sanders Building on UNC’s campus and was officially dedicated in a ceremony on July 26. The mural, called SERVICE, shows a gathering of influential African Americans from throughout North Carolina’s history at the counter of a diner. From the School of Government’s website: A creative interpretation of the Greensboro,… Continue Reading The Story of SERVICE, Part 1

WATCH: Harlem Book Fair Panel – “Can We Tell the Truth about the Black Past?”

Earlier this month the 12th annual Harlem Book Fair hosted a panel that included UNC Press authors Frank A. Guridy and Stephen Gillroy Hall. A video of the discussion, called “Can We Tell the Truth About the Black Past?”, is available through C-SPAN’s Book TV, which can be viewed here. Guridy is the author of Forging Diaspora: Afro-Cubans and African… Continue Reading WATCH: Harlem Book Fair Panel – “Can We Tell the Truth about the Black Past?”

Behind the Scenes of Reality Radio

As Elvis Costello said about describing sound with written word, “Writing about music is like dancing about architecture. It’s a really stupid thing to want to do.” While we don’t think it’s stupid, we certainly recognize the difficulty of the task (on a side note, if anyone wants to dance about architecture, please YouTube it for us!). However, John Biewen,… Continue Reading Behind the Scenes of Reality Radio

Racial Disparities in Swimming Rates: History Informs the Present

Startling statistics from a study done by the University of Memphis and USA Swimming have been reported: about 68.9 percent of African American children are unable to adequately swim, compared to 40 percent of white children with low swimming skills. While the disproportionate rates of swimming skills can be traced to early 20th-century segregation, the question of why this disparity… Continue Reading Racial Disparities in Swimming Rates: History Informs the Present

Interview: Meet Foy Edelman…and other cooks from across North Carolina

Whether you have a sweet tooth or a mouth full of sweet teeth, Foy Edelman has a recipe to satisfy that guilty pleasure. With more than 220 recipes in Sweet Carolina, the native North Carolinian offers a wide variety of goodies from kitchens all across the state. You can meet the contributing cooks and listen to them talk about their… Continue Reading Interview: Meet Foy Edelman…and other cooks from across North Carolina

Changing the Nursing Care Model

Doctors Nortin M. Hadler and Mark E. Williams recently authored a piece about the changing dynamics of healthcare after retirement, a system dating to the 1960s. They say the modern notion of Americans spend the last years of life has become incredibly sterilized since the influx of for-profit nursing homes. With increasing lifespans and complexity of treatment, what was good… Continue Reading Changing the Nursing Care Model