Want to read a few more books before the end of the year? We can help with that! We’ve compiled a list of short books that you can squeeze in to the last two weeks of 2024. If you aren’t able to finish them, no worries, these books will be great to kickstart your 2025 reading. Plus, with our Holiday… Continue Reading Short Books You Can Read Before the End of the Year
The following is a guest post from Sydney Nathans, author of Freedom’s Mirage: Virgil Bennehan’s Odyssey from Emancipation to Exile, which traces the exceptional life of Virgil Bennehan, born in bondage in 1808 in Piedmont North Carolina, who rose to become an enslaved doctor on one of the South’s largest plantations and to view himself as a friend to Black… Continue Reading Dear Young Master and Friend: How One Letter Turned into a Biography
Today, March 22, is the release of the new Netflix film, Shirley, with Regina King starring as Shirley Chisholm—the first Black woman elected to Congress and the first woman and Black major-party(Democratic) presidential candidate. If you’re planning to watch this biopic, you may want to add Shirley Chisholm: Champion of Black Feminist Power Politics by Anastasia C. Curwood, which is… Continue Reading Lights, Camera, Biography: The Perfect Book to Read if You’re Planning to Watch Netflix’s “Shirley”
The following is a guest blog post by Alison Li, author of Wondrous Transformations: A Maverick Physician, the Science of Hormones, and the Birth of the Transgender Revolution, which is available now wherever books are sold. When I was debating whether to write a biography of Dr. Harry Benjamin (1885-1986), several questions loomed large. Benjamin, a German-American physician, is best… Continue Reading The Reminiscences of a One-Hundred-and-One-Year-Old Man
The following is a guest blog post by Elizabeth D. Leonard, author of Benjamin Franklin Butler: A Noisy, Fearless Life. Benjamin Franklin Butler was one of the most important and controversial military and political leaders of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. Remembered most often for his uncompromising administration of the Federal occupation of New Orleans during the war, Butler reemerges… Continue Reading What Ever Happened to Sheppard Mallory, Frank Baker, and James Townsend?
The following is a guest blog post by Elizabeth D. Leonard, author of Benjamin Franklin Butler: A Noisy, Fearless Life. Benjamin Franklin Butler was one of the most important and controversial military and political leaders of the Civil War and Reconstruction eras. Remembered most often for his uncompromising administration of the Federal occupation of New Orleans during the war, Butler reemerges… Continue Reading Richard Strand’s Play, “Ben Butler”
Happy Women’s History Month! Women’s History Month had its origins as a national celebration in 1981 when Congress passed Pub. L. 97-28 which authorized and requested the President to proclaim the week beginning March 7, 1982 as “Women’s History Week.” Throughout the next five years, Congress continued to pass joint resolutions designating a week in March as “Women’s History Week.” In… Continue Reading Women’s History Month 2022 Reading List (Curated by Andreina Fernandez)
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
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
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”
The following is a guest blog post by William A. Link, author of Frank Porter Graham: Southern Liberal, Citizen of the World. Frank Porter Graham (1886–1972) was one of the most consequential white southerners of the twentieth century. Born in Fayetteville and raised in Charlotte, Graham became an active and popular student leader at the University of North Carolina. After earning a… Continue Reading Frank Graham, Pauli Murray, and the Search for Racial Justice
Last week Parker hopped on Zoom for a podcast interview with the Biographers International Organization. She discussed her latest book “Unceasing Militant: The Life of Mary Church Terrell”, the first ever full-length biography of African American activist Mary Church Terrell. Click here to listen to the podcast interview Alison M. Parker is department chair and Richards Professor of American History… Continue Reading Author of “Unceasing Militant: The Life of Mary Church Terrell” Alison M. Parker’s Interview with the Biographers International Organization Podcast
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