January 6, 2012

Excerpt: John Brown Still Lives!, by R. Blakeslee Gilpin

Throughout the early decades of the twentieth century, outwardly progressive philanthropists like Villard frustrated and were frustrated by the opinions and personalities of outspoken blacks like Du Bois. Observed through the prism of John Brown, their story reveals the strategies and conflicts involved in the greater project for racial equality, the longest and most significant struggle in American history. Continue Reading Excerpt: John Brown Still Lives!, by R. Blakeslee Gilpin

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/Excerpts/History/Southern Studies
January 3, 2012

Excerpt: In the Cause of Freedom, by Minkah Makalani

Early-twentieth-century black radicals were witness to a world that they believed teetered between revolution and repression, self-determination and ever-expanding empires. In the wake of a destructive world war that itself proved the catalyst for the movement of black laborers into cities and countries around the world, the growing crisis over the European colonial presence around the globe, and the rise of socialist and communist alternatives to Western democracy, black radicals sought alternative forms of political activism and began to forge links to other African diasporic radicals. Continue Reading Excerpt: In the Cause of Freedom, by Minkah Makalani

Categories African American History/African American Studies/Civil Rights/Cultural Studies/Global Studies/Political Science
December 27, 2011

Excerpt: Southscapes: Thadious Davis on the work of Ernest Gaines

His writing recovers and preserves a culture and a place that is an exterior, realistic landscape but is also a representation of his own subjectively shaped interior life that is dependent on the space of the plantation as it existed in his youth. Continue Reading Excerpt: Southscapes: Thadious Davis on the work of Ernest Gaines

Categories African American Studies/Excerpts/Literature/Southern Studies
December 20, 2011

Announcing the Southern Cultures Music Issue and enhanced ebook

Southern Cultures has just released the 2011 Music Issue–in print, online, and in eBook formats–including an enhanced Kindle edition that includes all the tracks from this year’s free CD. The Avett Brothers headline our CD, which also features Doc and Merle Watson and a blend of many more new and classic Southern artists. Continue Reading Announcing the Southern Cultures Music Issue and enhanced ebook

Categories folklore/Music/Southern Studies/UNC Press News
December 16, 2011

Book Excerpt: My Southern Home, by William Wells Brown

Slave children, with almost an alabaster complexion, straight hair, and blue eyes, whose mothers were jet black, or brown, were often a great source of annoyance in the Southern household, and especially to the mistress of the mansion. Continue Reading Book Excerpt: My Southern Home, by William Wells Brown

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/Southern Studies
December 15, 2011

Book Excerpt: DDT & the American Century, by David Kinkela

Müller’s discovery generated little international publicity. Europe was engulfed in a continental war, and the United States remained an interested observer. But as the United States entered the war, which expanded across continents and into the tropics, where the threat of insect-borne diseases increased, military health officials on all sides of the conflict demanded new methods to control disease, and DDT was positioned to play an important role in the war effort. Continue Reading Book Excerpt: DDT & the American Century, by David Kinkela

Categories American History/Environmental Studies/Health / Medicine/History/Science
December 14, 2011

Joseph Genetin-Pilawa: “Documented Rights” & Representations of Indigenous History in the Archive

The virtual exhibit “Documented Rights” raises some interesting challenges for scholars and museum professionals alike. It also reminds us that the struggle “for personal rights and freedoms” means something different for Indigenous people. While NARA should be congratulated for its attempt to do some justice to representing the Native experience, “Documented Rights” sheds light on the difficulty of doing so without replicating settler-colonial/archival patterns of organizing, categorizing, and flattening those histories. Continue Reading Joseph Genetin-Pilawa: “Documented Rights” & Representations of Indigenous History in the Archive

Categories American History/Author blog entry/Guest Bloggers/History/Media Studies/Native Amer./Indigenous Studies
December 13, 2011

Mark E. Neely Jr: Lincoln and the Triumph of the Nation – An Excerpt

Much has been lost by this failure to consider both of the American constitutions in the Civil War. Since the constitutions were markedly similar in content, the historian has the opportunity to see the document tested in two different societies at the same time. The opportunity for comparisons is unequaled in history. And ultimately our judgments on the role of the Constitution in war should appear doubly sound. Continue Reading Mark E. Neely Jr: Lincoln and the Triumph of the Nation – An Excerpt

Categories American History/Civil War/Excerpts/Political Science
December 12, 2011

Interview: J. Samuel Walker on the History of ACC Basketball

The ACC benefited from the economic growth and unprecedented prosperity in the South after World War II. Southerners generally had more disposable income than ever and many used it to attend basketball games at ACC schools, or at least to buy television sets that broadcast ACC games. Further, the stronger economic status of Southern states encouraged much-needed improvements in education, including the allocation of greater resources to public universities. One result was that members of the ACC took steps to upgrade their academic programs and prestige. Another result was the ability of several ACC schools to build modern basketball arenas. Continue Reading Interview: J. Samuel Walker on the History of ACC Basketball

Categories American History/Education/History/Interviews/North Carolina/Sports
December 8, 2011

Amrita Chakrabarti Myers: Forging Freedom – An Excerpt

In this excerpt from ‘Forging Freedom: Black Women and the Pursuit of Liberty in Antebellum Charleston,’ by Amrita Chakrabarti Myers, we meet a family of free black women who possessed an unusual amount of wealth and autonomy. Continue Reading Amrita Chakrabarti Myers: Forging Freedom – An Excerpt

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/Excerpts/Southern Studies/Women's Studies
December 6, 2011

Jason Morgan Ward: The Short Distance from Civil War to Civil Rights

This year marks two momentous and inseparable moments in the history of American race relations: the 150th anniversary of the start of the Civil War and the 50th anniversary of the Freedom Rides. That most commemorations of the former have neglected to mention the latter reveals a nagging reluctance to connect too directly the Civil War and the modern civil rights movement. But for white southerners in the mid-20th century, the link between Civil War and civil rights was crystal clear. Continue Reading Jason Morgan Ward: The Short Distance from Civil War to Civil Rights

Categories African American History/African American Studies/American History/Author blog entry/Civil Rights/Civil War/Guest Bloggers/History/Southern Studies
December 2, 2011

Free Book Friday! Music From the True Vine

Update 4:19 pm: And our winner this week is Maggie Baker! Congratulations, Maggie. I’ll email you for shipping instructions. Matt, thanks for playing (and tweeting about it!). Happy Friday everyone! And even happier because you get a chance to win a free book. It’s our monthly Free Book Friday giveaway, and today’s book is Music From the True Vine: Mike Seeger’s Life… Continue Reading Free Book Friday! Music From the True Vine

Categories Cultural Studies/Music/Southern Studies/UNC Press News