Category: African American History

Phantoms of Freedom: An Excerpt From “Illusions of Emancipation”

Happy Juneteenth! Celebrate and reflect on the emancipation of slavery with this excerpt from Illusions of Emancipation: The Pursuit of Freedom and Equality in the Twilight of Slavery by Joseph P. Reidy. In this sweeping reappraisal of slavery’s end during the Civil War era, Joseph P. Reidy employs the lenses of time, space, and individuals’ sense of personal and social… Continue Reading Phantoms of Freedom: An Excerpt From “Illusions of Emancipation”

Announcing the Black Women’s History Series Incubator

We are excited to announce the Black Women’s History Series Incubator! The incubator is open to authors who are currently completing a book-length manuscript on Black women’s history. One to two applicants will be selected and have the opportunity to receive feedback on their work-in-progress from series editors (Dr. Talitha L. LeFlouria,  Dr. Ashley Farmer, and Dr. Daina Ramey Berry) as… Continue Reading Announcing the Black Women’s History Series Incubator

Read Hammer and Hoe for Free

We’re excited to announce that in celebration of the inaugural issue of Hammer and Hope: A Magazine of Black Politics & Culture, you can now read Hammer and Hoe by Robin D. G. Kelley for free until 3/22/23. The Magazine, whose name is inspired by the award winning book, Hammer and Hoe: Alabama Communists during the Great Depression by Robin… Continue Reading Read Hammer and Hoe for Free

#NextUP: Black Women’s History Series

Happy University Press Week 2022! We are thrilled to be announcing a new series from UNC Press, Black Women’s History, during the Association of University Presses annual celebration. #UPWeek garners awareness and recognition for the vital publishing university presses offer, and this year’s theme, “Next UP,” highlights the dedicated work performed by those in the university press community to seek… Continue Reading #NextUP: Black Women’s History Series

Opposition and Misperceptions of Black Reparations

The following is an excerpt from the new preface of From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century, Second Edition by William Darity Jr. and A. Kirsten Mullen, available now from your favorite bookstore. Opposition to Black Reparations Two major strands of raw opposition to reparations arise out of misperceptions. One category of misperceptions involves the… Continue Reading Opposition and Misperceptions of Black Reparations

Martin Luther King Jr. and the “Coca Cola Scenario”

Sunday, August 28, we celebrate the anniversary of the March on Washington and Martin Luther King Jr.’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech. In the following guest post, Daniel T. Fleming, author of Living the Dream: The Contested History of Martin Luther King Jr. Day—available NOW wherever books and e-books are sold—writes about the history surrounding the copyright of the… Continue Reading Martin Luther King Jr. and the “Coca Cola Scenario”

New in Paperback for Spring 2022

The following titles are all newly available in paperback from your favorite bookseller. And, if purchasing direct from UNC Press, take 40% off during our 100th Anniversary Sale using promo code 01DAH40 at checkout, and ground shipping is free on U.S. orders that are $75+ (also good on any print book, as well as preorders; a few restrictions apply). Stone… Continue Reading New in Paperback for Spring 2022

Celebrate Juneteenth by Reflecting on Enslavement in the American South

Happy Juneteenth(observation day)! As we take today to commemorate the end of slavery in the US, we are sharing an excerpt from Closer to Freedom: Enslaved Women and Everyday Resistance in the Plantation South by Stephanie M. H. Camp. 1 A GEOGRAPHY OF CONTAINMENT The Bondage of Space and Time THE PRINCIPLES OF RESTRAINT At the heart of the process of enslavement was… Continue Reading Celebrate Juneteenth by Reflecting on Enslavement in the American South

Curator Conversations: Berkley Hudson on Mr. Pruitt’s Possum Town

Thanks to Curatorial for allowing us to reblog the following Q&A with Berkley Hudson that originally appeared on their website. Hudson describes how a recent exhibition of O.N. Pruitt’s photography, along with its companion book published by UNC Press in partnership with Duke University’s Center for Documentary Studies, O.N. Pruitt’s Possum Town: Photographing Trouble and Resilience in the American South,… Continue Reading Curator Conversations: Berkley Hudson on Mr. Pruitt’s Possum Town

Romare Bearden in the Homeland of His Imagination

Happy publication day to Glenda Gilmore’s Romare Bearden in the Homeland of His Imagination, a Ferris and Ferris Book. Romare Bearden (1911–1988), one of the most prolific, original, and acclaimed American artists of the twentieth century, richly depicted scenes and figures rooted in the American South and the Black experience. Bearden hailed from North Carolina but was forced to relocate to the… Continue Reading Romare Bearden in the Homeland of His Imagination

Glenda Gilmore Discusses “Romare Bearden in the Homeland of His Imagination”

The last of Spring 2022’s UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC Press’s ongoing Off the Shelf speaker series featured Glenda Gilmore discussing her new book, Romare Bearden in the Homeland of His Imagination: An Artist’s Reckoning with the South (on sale May 10, 2022). Watch the archived virtual discussion between Gilmore and Aaron Smithers, UNC-Chapel Hill Special Collections R&IS Librarian: In Romare… Continue Reading Glenda Gilmore Discusses “Romare Bearden in the Homeland of His Imagination”

2022 Society for Military History Annual Meeting

UNC Press is excited to be exhibiting in-person at SMH 2022—we hope you’ll stop by booth 207 and say hello to Debbie Gershenowitz! And if you can’t join us in-person, please visit our virtual booth! Forthcoming The Whartons’ War: The Civil War Correspondence of General Gabriel C. Wharton and Anne Radford Wharton, 1863–1865 Edited by William C. Davis and Sue… Continue Reading 2022 Society for Military History Annual Meeting

UNC Libraries Off The Shelf: Author Talk with Anne Gray Fischer

Anne Gray Fischer recently discussed her new book, The Streets Belong to Us: Sex, Race, and Police Power from Segregation to Gentrification, as part of the UNC Libraries-UNC Press author speaker series, Off the Shelf. Watch the archived virtual conversation: Fischer is a historian of the twentieth-century United States. Her research and teaching explores histories of gender, sexuality, and race; law… Continue Reading UNC Libraries Off The Shelf: Author Talk with Anne Gray Fischer

Berkley Hudson discusses “O.N. Pruitt’s Possum Town: Photographing Trouble and Resilience in the American South” at Flyleaf Books

Watch the archived presentation given by Berkeley Hudson on his recently released book published in partnership between Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University and UNC Press, O.N. Pruitt’s Possum Town: Photographing Trouble and Resilience in the American South, held on March 31st, 2022 at Chapel Hill, North Carolina’s Flyleaf Books. The New York Times Book Review proclaimed that “O.N.… Continue Reading Berkley Hudson discusses “O.N. Pruitt’s Possum Town: Photographing Trouble and Resilience in the American South” at Flyleaf Books

“Pauli Murray: A Personal and Political Life” Selected for NCH’s 2022 NC Reads Book Club

Pauli Murray: A Personal and Political Life by Troy R. Saxby has been selected for North Carolina Reads, the North Carolina Humanities statewide book club for 2022 that features five books that explore issues of racial, social, and gender equality and the history and culture of the state. “All five books pose critical questions about how North Carolinians view their role in helping… Continue Reading “Pauli Murray: A Personal and Political Life” Selected for NCH’s 2022 NC Reads Book Club

2022 Organization of American Historians Annual Meeting

It was so good to be back in-person at OAH 2022! If you missed seeing us in Boston, please visit our virtual booth to browse our recent American history titles, learn more about our great book series, or connect with one of our acquisitions editors. Congratulations to all of our award winners from this weekend! Recasting the Vote: How Women… Continue Reading 2022 Organization of American Historians Annual Meeting

New Editorial Roles for Mark Simpson-Vos and Debbie Gershenowitz

As UNC Press launches its new acquisitions strategy in its centennial year, effective April 1, 2022, two senior members of the Press’s editorial team are taking on new roles to align oversight of key lists with the Press’s strategic priorities. Editorial Director Mark Simpson-Vos will substantially shift his focus, taking over responsibility for the Press’s prestigious list of general-interest and… Continue Reading New Editorial Roles for Mark Simpson-Vos and Debbie Gershenowitz

2022 African American Intellectual History Society Annual Meeting

We hope you’ll visit our virtual booth for the 2022 African American Intellectual History Society annual meeting! There you can browse our new & recent titles on display, learn more about our Justice, Power, and Politics series, and connect with editors Andrew Winters, Brandon Proia, and Debbie Gershenowitz. Our Justice, Power, and Politics series publishes new works that explore questions… Continue Reading 2022 African American Intellectual History Society Annual Meeting

Black History Month 2022 Reading List: Black Resistance

As you may already now, February is Black History Month. The history of black people should be celebrated at all times, but in February, we shine an extra special light on it. Black History Month began as Negro History Week in February 1926, created by historian Carter G. Woodson. In 1976, the celebration was expanded to a month. We’ll be… Continue Reading Black History Month 2022 Reading List: Black Resistance

But for Birmingham: The National Movement

The following is an excerpt from Glenn T. Eskew’s But for Birmingham: The Local and National Movements in the Civil Rights Struggle. Birmingham served as the stage for some of the most dramatic and important moments in the history of the civil rights struggle. In this vivid narrative account, Glenn Eskew traces the evolution of nonviolent protest in the city,… Continue Reading But for Birmingham: The National Movement