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Category: African American Studies

March 2, 2011

W. Fitzhugh Brundage: Beyoncé, Bert Williams, and the History of Blackface in America

When we read about Beyoncé‘s recent photo shoot in blackface, we asked for some historical insight from W. Fitzhugh Brundage, editor of the forthcoming book Beyond Blackface: African Americans and the Creation of American Popular Culture, 1890-1930 (July 2011). The book includes essays from sixteen scholars who depict popular culture as a crucial arena in which African Americans struggled to… Continue Reading W. Fitzhugh Brundage: Beyoncé, Bert Williams, and the History of Blackface in America

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/American Studies/Cultural Studies/Guest Bloggers/History
February 25, 2011

The Dirty South: Why It’s on MY Pop Culture Radar

My students, and probably some friends and relatives, would be surprised to learn that I am a fan of southern hip hop.  What, pray tell, would a 40-something white woman know and enjoy about music from the Dirty South?  Well, to answer that I’d have to go back to the days of my youth.  Way back. I’ve long been a… Continue Reading The Dirty South: Why It’s on MY Pop Culture Radar

Categories African American Studies/American Studies/Author blog entry/Guest Bloggers/Music/Southern Studies
February 18, 2011

James Wolfinger: A Tale of Two Levittowns: Race and Housing in Suburban Philadelphia

Today we welcome a guest post from James Wolfinger, author of Philadelphia Divided: Race and Politics in the City of Brotherly Love. Here, Wolfinger sheds light on the rocky beginnings of the Levittown in Bucks County outside of Philadelphia, which was fraught with racial tension and forced segregation by Bill Levitt himself, even years after its 1951 opening. But seven… Continue Reading James Wolfinger: A Tale of Two Levittowns: Race and Housing in Suburban Philadelphia

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/Author blog entry/Civil Rights/Guest Bloggers/History
February 17, 2011

Everything You Need for an African American History Month Reading List

As you probably know, February is African American History Month, when we celebrate the countless contributions of African Americans to our country and recognize the struggles of generations past and present.  Titles that treat the many facets of African American culture and history have always been one of the strongest and most important components of UNC Press’s list.  Here are… Continue Reading Everything You Need for an African American History Month Reading List

Categories African American History/African American Studies/Civil Rights/Civil War/Current Events/Southern Studies
January 18, 2011

James Wolfinger: Home Sweet Home: Race and Public Housing in Philadelphia

The free market in housing works for many people, especially those with access to a good education, a stable job, adequate compensation, and decent health care. But not everyone has those things, and the Depression made us understand that it was not always because of personal failings. Continue Reading James Wolfinger: Home Sweet Home: Race and Public Housing in Philadelphia

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/American Studies/Author blog entry/Guest Bloggers/History
January 6, 2011

Civil Rights Memory: Haley Barbour and the New ‘Lost Cause’

Just before our holiday hiatus we were following the story of Mississippi governor Haley Barbour’s comments to the Weekly Standard about how smoothly the desegregation of schools went in his hometown of Yazoo City. It was his defense of the role of the white Citizens’ Councils (which he later recanted) that prompted a lot of backlash. I was happy to… Continue Reading Civil Rights Memory: Haley Barbour and the New ‘Lost Cause’

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/Biography / Autobiography/Civil Rights/History/Politics/Southern Studies/UNC Press Authors/UNC Press News
December 17, 2010

Give My Poor Heart Ease now available as enhanced E-book!

Here’s something that would give anyone’s poor heart ease: William Ferris’ Give My Poor Heart Ease: Voices of the Mississippi Blues is available through Amazon in an enhanced Kindle Edition at a great price. This enhanced edition is an ideal way to enjoy a work that draws heavily from archival video and audio recordings. Listen, watch, and read from the… Continue Reading Give My Poor Heart Ease now available as enhanced E-book!

Categories African American Studies/folklore/Music/UNC Press Authors
November 29, 2010

Philip Rubio hits the airwaves to talk snail mail and the effects of postal cuts on African American postal workers

The U.S. Postal Service faces an $8.5 million budget shortfall this year. NPR is broadcasting a series of stories about cuts in postal services and facilities and the lives and communities already being affected. One person with great insight into the social history of the USPS is Philip Rubio, author of There’s Always Work at the Post Office: African American… Continue Reading Philip Rubio hits the airwaves to talk snail mail and the effects of postal cuts on African American postal workers

Categories African American History/African American Studies/Civil Rights/History/Labor Studies/Podcasts/Public Policy/UNC Press Authors
November 19, 2010

Celebrate Pauli Murray this Sunday in Durham

Hello all and happy weekend! Before we head off into the literal and very beautiful fall sunset today, we want to remind you about Pauli Murray’s 100th birthday celebration on Sunday.  We do hope you’ll attend, or click around the interwebs in her honor if you can’t be there in person. This Sunday, from 3 to 5, there will be… Continue Reading Celebrate Pauli Murray this Sunday in Durham

Categories African American History/African American Studies/Events/UNC Press News
November 2, 2010

Let the Month of Murray Begin

A couple years ago some colorful and inspiring murals started popping up in Durham, NC, where I live. On Foster Street, down by the YMCA and the Farmers’ Market. On Chapel Hill Street, on the side of the Durham Food Co-op building. Three more within a stone’s throw of each other on Chapel Hill Road, along the exterior walls of… Continue Reading Let the Month of Murray Begin

Categories African American Studies/Civil Rights/Gay / Lesbian Studies/UNC Press News
October 27, 2010

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

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/Biography / Autobiography/Civil War/History/Interviews/UNC Press Authors
October 5, 2010

Susan Reverby Uncovers History of U.S. Medical Testing on Guatemalans

You’ve probably already heard: last Friday President Obama called President Alvaro Colom of Guatemala to apologize for a public health outrage committed 64 years ago.  In 1946, American doctors, with the support of the Public Health Service, conducted experiments on prisoners, the insane, soldiers, and prostitutes, who were initially used to infect the prisoners. Though the institutions and governments involved… Continue Reading Susan Reverby Uncovers History of U.S. Medical Testing on Guatemalans

Categories African American Studies/American History/Ethics/Health / Medicine/History/Latin American/Caribbean Hist./Science/UNC Press Authors
September 28, 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”

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/Art / Architecture/Biography / Autobiography/Civil Rights/folklore/Guest Bloggers/History/North Carolina/Southern Studies/Women's Studies
September 23, 2010

Chad Williams takes the page 99 test

Hot off the press this month is a new book by Chad L. Williams, Torchbearers of Democracy: African American Soldiers in the World War I Era. In the book, Williams reveals the central role of African American soldiers in World War I and how they, along with race activists and ordinary citizens alike, committed to fighting for democracy at home… Continue Reading Chad Williams takes the page 99 test

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/History/Military Studies
September 21, 2010

The Story of Service, Part 7: Somerset Place Plantation

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 The Story of Service, Part 7: Somerset Place Plantation

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/North Carolina/UNC Press News
September 14, 2010

The Story of Service, Part 6: The US Colored Regiment

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 The Story of Service, Part 6: The US Colored Regiment

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/Civil Rights/Civil War/Military History/North Carolina/Religion/Southern Studies/Women's Studies
September 8, 2010

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

Categories African American Studies/American History/Blair L. M. Kelley/Southern Studies/UNC Press Authors/Women's Studies
September 7, 2010

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

Categories African American Studies/American History/Civil Rights/North Carolina