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Category: African American Studies

February 1, 2022

The Hidden Histories of American Food Reform

The following is a guest blog post from Jennifer Jensen Wallach, author of Every Nation Has Its Dish: Black Bodies and Black Food in Twentieth-Century America. Jennifer Jensen Wallach’s nuanced history of black foodways across the twentieth century challenges traditional narratives of “soul food” as a singular style of historical African American cuisine. Wallach investigates the experiences and diverse convictions… Continue Reading The Hidden Histories of American Food Reform

Categories African American Studies/American Studies/Cooking / Food/Guest Bloggers
January 27, 2022

Permanent Markers: Geno-Myths

The following is an excerpt from Sarah Abel’s Permanent Markers: Race, Ancestry, and the Body after the Genome. Over the past twenty years, DNA ancestry testing has morphed from a niche market into a booming international industry that encourages members of the public to answer difficult questions about their identity by looking to the genome. At a time of intensified… Continue Reading Permanent Markers: Geno-Myths

Categories African American Studies/Excerpts/Latin American & Caribbean Studies/Political Science/Science
January 26, 2022

Understanding Puerto Rico’s Past: A Recommended Reading List

You may have heard about the recent protest in Puerto Rico that ended in the toppling of a statue in Plaza San Jose. It’s incredibly important to understand that these situations don’t usually happen “out of nowhere.” From various news sources and Twitter, it looks like this happened due to the continued celebration of colonialism in Puerto Rico and the… Continue Reading Understanding Puerto Rico’s Past: A Recommended Reading List

Categories African American Studies/Anthropology/Diplomatic History / International Affairs/Fiction/Latin American & Caribbean Studies/Latino Studies/Literature/Political Science/Reading Lists/Sociology
January 25, 2022

Crossing Jim Crow: Enlisting and Traveling to Boot Camp

The following is an excerpt from David P. Cline’s Twice Forgotten: African Americans and the Korean War, an Oral History. Journalists began to call the Korean War “the Forgotten War” even before it ended. Without a doubt, the most neglected story of this already neglected war is that of African Americans who served just two years after Harry S. Truman ordered the desegregation of the military. Twice Forgotten draws on… Continue Reading Crossing Jim Crow: Enlisting and Traveling to Boot Camp

Categories African American Studies/Excerpts/Military History
January 24, 2022

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

Categories African American History/African American Studies/Excerpts/History
January 20, 2022

Adrian Miller’s Top 5 Favorite UNC Press Books #UNCP100

In celebration of our centennial year, we’ve asked our authors to write some guest blog posts to help celebrate with us! We’re kicking off our centennial blog post series with a post from Adrian Miller, author of award-winning book Black Smoke: African Americans and the United States of Barbecue. In Black Smoke, Miller chronicles how Black barbecuers, pitmasters, and restauranteurs helped… Continue Reading Adrian Miller’s Top 5 Favorite UNC Press Books #UNCP100

Categories African American Studies/Colonial, Revolutionary Era & Early American History/Cooking / Food/North Carolina/Reading Lists/Southern Studies/UNC Press News
January 17, 2022

Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Recommended Reading List

True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice. Martin Luther King Jr., Stride Toward Freedom Today marks the 36th annual observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. First observed in 1986, Martin Luther King Jr. Day serves as a celebration of the life of Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. Well known… Continue Reading Martin Luther King Jr. Day: Recommended Reading List

Categories African American History/African American Studies/History/Political Science/Reading Lists
January 12, 2022

Hot Off The Press: January 2022

We’re publishing some great books this month! Read below to learn more about these exceptional titles. Don’t forget, our Holiday Sale is going on until January 31st. You can save 40% on ALL UNC Press print books and if your order totals $75 or more, the shipping is FREE! Enter code 01HOLIDAY at checkout to receive the discount. Published: PERMANENT… Continue Reading Hot Off The Press: January 2022

Categories African American Studies/American Studies/Hot Off The Press/Latin American & Caribbean Studies/Military History/Photography/Political Science/Science/UNC Press News
January 11, 2022

Chronicling Stankonia: The Mountaintop Ain’t Flat

To celebrate Regina Bradley’s Chronicling Stankonia being featured on Blackfeminisms.com’s Academic Books by and About Black Women – 2021 Edition list, we’ve decided to share an excerpt from the book. This vibrant book pulses with the beats of a new American South, probing the ways music, literature, and film have remixed southern identities for a post–civil rights generation. For scholar… Continue Reading Chronicling Stankonia: The Mountaintop Ain’t Flat

Categories African American Studies/American Studies/Excerpts/Literature/Music
January 5, 2022

2022 American Historical Association Annual Meeting

Due to continued concerns surrounding travel and the coronavirus, UNC Press has decided to no longer exhibit in-person at AHA 2022. While we are disappointed to miss this opportunity to see you all at our booth, we hope you’ll take the time to visit our virtual booth. And we hope to see you at AHA 2023! At our virtual booth… Continue Reading 2022 American Historical Association Annual Meeting

Categories African American Studies/Civil War/Colonial, Revolutionary Era & Early American History/Gender Studies/Labor Studies/Latin American & Caribbean Studies/Native Amer./Indigenous Studies/Sociology/UNC Press News/Women's Studies
December 28, 2021

Arise, Africa! Roar, China! Black and Chinese Citizens of the World in the Twentieth Century

The following is a guest blog post by Yunxiang Gao, author of Arise Africa, Roar China: Black and Chinese Citizens of the World in the Twentieth Century, reposted from Fairbank Center Blog. This book explores the close relationships between three of the most famous twentieth-century African Americans, W. E. B. Du Bois, Paul Robeson, and Langston Hughes, and their little-known Chinese allies during World War… Continue Reading Arise, Africa! Roar, China! Black and Chinese Citizens of the World in the Twentieth Century

Categories Africa & African Diaspora/African American Studies/Asian American Studies/Asian Studies/Political Science
December 21, 2021

Civil Rights Unionism: Those Who Were Not Afraid

The following is an excerpt from Robert R. Korstad’s Civil Rights Unionism: Tobacco Workers and the Struggle for Democracy in the Mid-Twentieth-Century South. Drawing on scores of interviews with black and white tobacco workers in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Robert Korstad brings to life the forgotten heroes of Local 22 of the Food, Tobacco, Agricultural and Allied Workers of America-CIO. These… Continue Reading Civil Rights Unionism: Those Who Were Not Afraid

Categories African American Studies/Excerpts/Labor Studies/North Carolina/Southern Studies
December 20, 2021

Senior Editor Lucas Church’s Interview with Author of White Philanthropy Maribel Morey

The following is an interview between UNC Press’ Senior Editor Lucas Church and Maribel Morey, author of White Philanthropy: Carnegie Corporation’s An American Dilemma and the Making of a White World Order. Since its publication in 1944, many Americans have described Gunnar Myrdal’s An American Dilemma as a defining text on U.S. race relations. Here, Maribel Morey confirms with historical evidence what… Continue Reading Senior Editor Lucas Church’s Interview with Author of White Philanthropy Maribel Morey

Categories African American Studies/American Studies/Political Science
December 17, 2021

Author Fay A. Yarbrough’s Talk With the U.S. National Archives

Earlier this month, the U.S. National Archives hosted a talk with Fay A. Yarbrough, author of Choctaw Confederates: The American Civil War in Indian Country. When the Choctaw Nation was forcibly resettled in Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma in the 1830s, it was joined by enslaved Black people—the tribe had owned enslaved Blacks since the 1720s. By the eve of the Civil… Continue Reading Author Fay A. Yarbrough’s Talk With the U.S. National Archives

Categories African American Studies/Civil War/History/Military History/Native Amer./Indigenous Studies/Video
December 15, 2021

Universal Human Rights Month: A Recommended Reading List

Nobody’s free until everybody’s free. Fannie Lou Hamer December marks the annual celebration of Universal Human Rights Month. The observance of this month began in 1948 when the U.N. wrote a document called The Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The document was created after World War II and was used to “properly define what human rights would be protected universally”.… Continue Reading Universal Human Rights Month: A Recommended Reading List

Categories Africa & African Diaspora/African American Studies/American Studies/Diplomatic History / International Affairs/Gender Studies/History/Labor Studies/Latin American & Caribbean Studies/Latino Studies/Law / Legal History/LGBT Studies/Native Amer./Indigenous Studies/North Carolina/Political Science/Reading Lists/Sociology/Southern Studies/Women's Studies
December 14, 2021

Pauli Murray: For All My Bravado, Deeply Engrained Notions of Respectability Filled Me With Distress, 1926 – 1940

Recently Pauli Murray: A Personal and Political Life by Troy R. Saxby was selected for North Carolina Reads, 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 North Carolina. To celebrate this accomplishment, we’ve decided to share an excerpt from this book. The Rev. Dr.… Continue Reading Pauli Murray: For All My Bravado, Deeply Engrained Notions of Respectability Filled Me With Distress, 1926 – 1940

Categories African American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Excerpts/Gender Studies/LGBT Studies
December 12, 2021

Staff Picks: 2021 UNC Press Holiday Gift Guide

We hope you’ve got your hot chocolate and eggnog ready for this winter season! Today we wanted to share some holiday gift recommendations from our staff. Don’t forget, we’re having a Holiday Sale too! Save 40% on any of these great stocking stuffers and all of our other UNC Press print books. You’ll also receive free shipping on orders of… Continue Reading Staff Picks: 2021 UNC Press Holiday Gift Guide

Categories African American Studies/Appalachian Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Biology/Birds & Birding/British History/Civil War/Cooking / Food/Creative Nonfiction/Environmental Studies/Gardening/History/Literature/Military History/Music/Nature/North Carolina/Political Science/Sports/Travel/UNC Press News
December 9, 2021

“Julius Chambers: Child of the Jim Crow South”

The following is an excerpt from Richard A. Rosen and Joseph Mosnier’s Julius Chambers: A Life in the Legal Struggle for Civil Rights. Born in the hamlet of Mount Gilead, North Carolina, Julius Chambers (1936–2013) escaped the fetters of the Jim Crow South to emerge in the 1960s and 1970s as the nation’s leading African American civil rights attorney. Following… Continue Reading “Julius Chambers: Child of the Jim Crow South”

Categories African American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Excerpts/History/North Carolina
December 8, 2021

New and Recently Released UNC Press Audiobooks

We are pleased to announce the availability of the following UNC Press titles in audiobook format (sample audio excerpts are available via the links below): Those Who Know Don’t Say: The Nation of Islam, the Black Freedom Movement, and the Carceral State by Garrett Felber, published by Tantor Media Felber . . . examines how the Nation of Islam, and… Continue Reading New and Recently Released UNC Press Audiobooks

Categories African American Studies/American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Civil War/Cooking / Food/Creative Nonfiction/Cultural Studies/Islamic Studies/Labor Studies/Latino Studies/Military History/North Carolina/Political Science/Religion/UNC Press News
December 6, 2021

“Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: Now Who Are Your People?”

The following is an excerpt from Barbara Ransby’s Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic Vision. A gifted grassroots organizer, Baker shunned the spotlight in favor of vital behind-the-scenes work that helped power the black freedom struggle. She was a national officer and key figure in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, one of… Continue Reading “Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: Now Who Are Your People?”

Categories African American Studies/Biography / Autobiography/Excerpts