Category: African American Studies

Book Giveaway: Enter to win a selection of new UNC Press books in African-American History!

UNC Press is raffling off a selection of our newest books in African American History. To enter, simply follow us on Twitter (@uncpressblog), re-Tweet this contest, or send us your email address. The winner will be selected randomly from all entries received.  Winner will be selected at the Organization of American Historians Annual Meeting in Sacramento — April 14, 2018,… Continue Reading Book Giveaway: Enter to win a selection of new UNC Press books in African-American History!

Pamela Grundy: Resegregation: Where Do We Go from Here?

Today we highlight a post written by Pamela Grundy, author of Color and Character:  West Charlotte High and the American Struggle over Educational Equality, published last fall by UNC Press.  Her post is in response to a recent Newsweek feature story on the state of school segregation in America today. Drawing on nearly two decades of interviews with students, educators,… Continue Reading Pamela Grundy: Resegregation: Where Do We Go from Here?

Author Interview: A Conversation with Sara B. Franklin, editor of Edna Lewis: At the Table with an American Original

Today UNC Press publicity director Gina Mahalek chats with Sara B. Franklin, editor of Edna Lewis: At the Table with an American Original, just published by UNC Press. ### Gina Mahalek: Edna Lewis can be said to be having something of “a moment.” Why this resurgence of interest in her, and why now? Sara B. Franklin: That’s a really complicated… Continue Reading Author Interview: A Conversation with Sara B. Franklin, editor of Edna Lewis: At the Table with an American Original

Millington W. Bergeson-Lockwood: How a Monument to the Boston Massacre Was and Can Be So Much More

Today, as we prepare for St. Patrick’s Day, we welcome a guest post from Millington W. Bergeson-Lockwood, author of Race Over Party:  Black Politics and Partisanship in Late Nineteenth-Century Boston, publishing in May from UNC Press.  Bergeson-Lockwood discusses the creation of the monument to Crispus Attucks and the Boston Massacre, a unique moment of Black and Irish alliance in 1880s… Continue Reading Millington W. Bergeson-Lockwood: How a Monument to the Boston Massacre Was and Can Be So Much More

Jerry Gershenhorn: Louis Austin–A Courageous Voice for Black Freedom in North Carolina

Today we welcome a guest post from Jerry Gershenhorn, author of Louis Austin and the Carolina Times:  A Life in the Long Black Freedom Struggle, just published by UNC Press. Louis Austin (1898–1971) came of age at the nadir of the Jim Crow era and became a transformative leader of the long black freedom struggle in North Carolina. From 1927… Continue Reading Jerry Gershenhorn: Louis Austin–A Courageous Voice for Black Freedom in North Carolina

Rebecca de Schweinitz: Youth Activism, Yesterday and Today

Today we welcome a guest post from Rebecca de Schweinitz, author of If We Could Change the World: Young People and America’s Long Struggle for Racial Equality. Hers is the first book to connect young people and shifting ideas about children and youth with the black freedom struggle, and in it she explains how popular ideas about youth and young… Continue Reading Rebecca de Schweinitz: Youth Activism, Yesterday and Today

Rebecca Tuuri: The National Council of Negro Women’s Monumental Achievement

Continuing our celebration of African American History month, today we welcome a guest post by Rebecca Tuuri, author of Strategic Sisterhood: The National Council of Negro Women in the Black Freedom Struggle, which will be published by UNC Press in May. When women were denied a major speaking role at the 1963 March on Washington, Dorothy Height, head of the… Continue Reading Rebecca Tuuri: The National Council of Negro Women’s Monumental Achievement

Thomas J. Brown: Statue and Statute

Today, we welcome a guest post from Thomas J. Brown, author of Civil War Canon:  Sites of Confederate Memory in South Carolina, just published in paperback by UNC Press. In this expansive history of South Carolina’s commemoration of the Civil War era, Thomas J. Brown uses the lens of place to examine the ways that landmarks of Confederate memory have… Continue Reading Thomas J. Brown: Statue and Statute

D.H. Dilbeck: The Night Frederick Douglass Resolved to Learn How to Read

Continuing our celebration of African American History month, today we welcome a guest post from D.H. Dilbeck, author of Frederick Douglass:  America’s Prophet, which has it’s official publication today. From his enslavement to freedom, Frederick Douglass was one of America’s most extraordinary champions of liberty and equality. Throughout his long life, Douglass was also a man of profound religious conviction.… Continue Reading D.H. Dilbeck: The Night Frederick Douglass Resolved to Learn How to Read

Interview with Lane Demas, author of USGA award winner, Game of Privilege

Today, as we continue to celebrate African American History month, we’re sharing an interview with Lane Demas, whose book, Game of Privilege:  An African American History of Golf, won the 2017 Herbert Warren Wind Book Award from the United States Golf Association (USGA).   This award is part of the USGA’s annual Service Awards, celebrating the the leadership, dedication and exemplary… Continue Reading Interview with Lane Demas, author of USGA award winner, Game of Privilege

Celebrating African American History Month at UNC Press

Today marks the beginning of African American (or Black) History month, and we at UNC Press are celebrating with our latest releases.  You can order these books using the promo code 01DAH40, and you’ll get 40 percent discount, and free domestic shipping if your order totals $75 or more. For more information surrounding the establishment of African American History month,… Continue Reading Celebrating African American History Month at UNC Press

Daniel Livesay: Meghan Markle and the Long History of American Brides of Color in Britain

Today we welcome a guest post from Daniel Livesay, author of Children of Uncertain Fortune:  Mixed-Race Jamaicans in Britain and the Atlantic Family, 1733-1833, published by our friends at the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture. By tracing the largely forgotten eighteenth-century migration of elite mixed-race individuals from Jamaica to Great Britain, Children of Uncertain Fortune reinterprets the… Continue Reading Daniel Livesay: Meghan Markle and the Long History of American Brides of Color in Britain

Happy MLK Day! Ashley D. Farmer on Martin Luther King, Jr. and Black Power

Today, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, we highlight a post written by Ashley D. Farmer, author of Remaking Black Power:  How Black Women Transformed an Era, just published by UNC Press. Remaking Black Power examines black women’s political, social, and cultural engagement with Black Power ideals and organizations. Complicating the assumption that sexism relegated black women… Continue Reading Happy MLK Day! Ashley D. Farmer on Martin Luther King, Jr. and Black Power

#HaitiSyllabus — Haitian Studies titles from UNC Press

#HaitiSyllabus Haitian Studies titles from UNC Press The University of North Carolina Press has prided itself on accumulating and disseminating books that range in field and scope.  We have made it our mission to contribute to the ongoing debates and discussions within and outside of the academy.  In light of President Trump’s remarks regarding Haiti, El Salvador, and various African… Continue Reading #HaitiSyllabus — Haitian Studies titles from UNC Press

Michael D. Robinson: Where Was the Political Middle Ground during the Secession Crisis?

Today, we welcome a guest post from Michael D. Robinson, author of A Union Indivisible:  Secession and the Politics of Slavery in the Border South. Many accounts of the secession crisis overlook the sharp political conflict that took place in the Border South states of Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, and Missouri. In A Union Indivisible, Michael D. Robinson expands the scope… Continue Reading Michael D. Robinson: Where Was the Political Middle Ground during the Secession Crisis?

Author Interview: Adam Gussow, Beyond the Crossroads

  Today, UNC Press Publicity Director Gina Mahalek talks with Adam Gussow, author of Beyond the Crossroads: The Devil and the Blues Tradition, about Sterling Magee, the blues tradition and folklore in the American South, and more. You can also read Adam’s Book Notes post over at the Largehearted Boy blog, where he also shares a cool Spotify playlist of classic… Continue Reading Author Interview: Adam Gussow, Beyond the Crossroads

Author Interview: Karen L. Cox, Goat Castle

“From the time I learned about Goat Castle and the real-life characters that inhabited it, I could see it as a film. Every person I’ve ever talked to about this book project has said, without fail, ‘This needs to be a movie.’” Continue Reading Author Interview: Karen L. Cox, Goat Castle

John Hayes: On Class, Religion, and Politics

Today we welcome a guest post from John Hayes, author of Hard, Hard Religion:  Interracial Faith in the Poor South, on the history behind the increasing importance of class and religion on today’s American political landscape. In his captivating study of faith and class, John Hayes examines the ways folk religion in the early twentieth century allowed the South’s poor–both… Continue Reading John Hayes: On Class, Religion, and Politics

Nicholas Grant: Apartheid South Africa and the 1957 Little Rock Crisis

Today we welcome a guest blog post from Nicholas Grant, author of Winning Our Freedoms Together: African Americans and Apartheid, 1945–1960, on the South African government’s reaction to the 1957 crisis over the integration of Little Rock Central High School. Winning Our Freedoms Together examines how African Americans engaged with, supported, and were inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement. Bringing… Continue Reading Nicholas Grant: Apartheid South Africa and the 1957 Little Rock Crisis