Historians in the News

Memory Haunts: John Edgar Wideman's Fictionalized Account of the 1985 MOVE Bombing

by Imani Perry

Wideman's account of events leading to the bombing of MOVE by Philadelphia police "is not just a map of the city but of the nation and our collective condition."

Is American Democracy At Risk? Philly Scholars See Creeping Fascism And Historic Parallels

Historian of Germany Anne Berg is among scholars warning that the combination of armed right wing groups and Donald Trump's suggestions that force may be needed to prevent fraudulent voting indicate a dangerous moment for democracy. 

The Nobility of Mobility: A Road Trip Through Racism

Historian Chris West notes that “driving in a racist society” persists as a “gut-wrenching horror" in a new PBS documentary "Driving While Black: Race, Space and Mobility in America."

Dr. Heather Cox Richardson: The 2020 Election and Beyond

Heather Cox Richardson joins host Keri Leigh Merritt to discuss the history behind the 2020 election, and more. 

“Entrepreneurial Greed” — A Review Of Crack: Rock Cocaine, Street Capitalism, And The Decade Of Greed

David Farber's book examines the entrepreneurial culture of crack cocaine and how the drug trade meshed with Reagan-era changes in urban political economy.

TODAY: Washington History Seminar: "A World Safe For Democracy" with G. John Ikenberry

G. John Ikenberry joins the Washington History Seminar today at 4:00 PM Eastern to discuss "A World Safe For Democracy" and the crisis of the liberal international order. 

Virtual Talk: “Confronting White Power in 2020” Feat. Ibram X. Kendi and Kathleen Belew, Monday 10/5

Ibram X. Kendi and Kathleen Belew discuss the threat of white supremacy in a discussion moderated by Linda Gordon, Monday, October 5 at 7:00 PM Eastern.

Of Presidents and Health, History Replete with Secrecy, Lies

History is replete with examples of how presidents have kept the American public in the dark about their ailments and medical conditions.

We Nearly Lost Our First President to the Flu. The Country Could Have Died, Too

by Gillian Brockell

Had he died in the 1790 flu pandemic, the United States might have died with him. The new Constitution lacked detailed instructions on how to treat presidential incapacitation and death. (This was remedied in the 20th century by the 25th Amendment).

'Students Need to Know the Harrowing Truth': Teachers on Black History in the Curriculum

British history educators and scholars discuss a proposal to make Black history a compulsory part of the national history curriculum. 

Ben Railton Joins "Keeping Democracy Alive" to Talk "Patriotic Education"

American Studies scholar Ben Railton discusses his upcoming book "Of Thee I Sing: The Contested History of American Patriotism" and the political hijacking of the patriotic ideal. 

The Proud Boys Are Part of America's Long History of Vigilante Violence. Here’s What to Know About the Group's Origins

Although he would later claim not to know about the "Proud Boys" far-right gang, Trump's debate comments could be seen as a "green light" for political violence, says historian Kathleen Belew. 

Hispanic Heritage Month Gets Justifiable Criticism, but it’s Still Worth Celebrating. Here's Why

Historian Stephen Pitti says there is a good deal of skepticism that Hispanic Heritage month is coopted by corporations and is racially exclusionary of indigenous and Afro-latino identity, but it is politically significant for Latinos to be recognized as part of the culture of the United States.

Meet the Mexican Workers Who Helped Feed America During World War II

Portland State history professor Marc Rodriguez discusses how the program addressed the United States' agricultural labor needs and started the settlement of Latino communities in new parts of the nation. 

How We Teach US History

Historian Khalil Gibran Muhammad, Massachusetts History Teacher of the Year N'Dia Riegler, and Director of Literacy and Humanities for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education discuss how to teach the difficult and conflict-ridden aspects of the national past. 

With Evictions Looming, Cities Revisit a Housing Experiment From the ’70s (video)

by Retro Report

The looming evictions crisis is prompting housing policy experts to reconsider government programs that would enable the tenants of a building to secure loans to purchase their buildings cooperatively. A video from Retro Report explores how the battle to save the International Hotel in San Francisco for its low-income tenants prefigured today's policy debates.

Catholic University of America Presents Geraldo Cadava on "The Hispanic Republican"

Geraldo Cadava will discuss his new book on Hispanic Republicans on October 14 in a virtual seminar hosted by the Catholic University of America. 

The Joke’s on Us

Communications scholar Whitney Phillips argues that the irony-drenched culture of the internet allowed serious white supremacy, nazism and misogyny to flourish unchecked. From the Klan to the Nazis, the far right has benefitted from sowing confusion about what was serious and what was a joke. 

A Counter to Confederate Monuments, Black Cemeteries Tell a Fuller Story of the South

“We put up these Confederate monuments in public squares as a homage to a lost cause that was really a lie. But the real builders of the cities and the states and the nation, their narrative is still not told.”

Trump’s America Remains Stuck in the Shadow of Reagan (Review)

A reviewer of Rick Perlstein's "Reaganland" stresses that Donald Trump today presides over a corporate oligarchy that Reaganism helped build by drawing new, politically active corporate lobbyists into coalition with social conservatives.