Historians in the News

Kamala Harris isn’t the First Black Woman to Run for VP. Meet Charlotta Bass

Historians Martha S. Jones, Eric McDuffie and Denise Lynn identify the Los Angeles newspaper publisher and civil rights activist of the mid-20th century as a key figure paving the way for Kamala Harris and contemporary women of color in politics. 

‘She May Very Well Hold The Key To Biden’s Win’

A group of women scholars and activists including Keisha N. Blain, Jo Freeman, Oneka LaBennett and Treva Lindsey give perspective on Kamala Harris's selection as the Democratic vice presidential candidate.   

The Harvard Professor Who Told the World That Jesus Had a Wife (Review)

A new book details Karen King's 2012 discovery of a papyrus scrap suggesting that Jesus had a wife whose existence was concealed from posterity. As it turns out, the discovery was a fraud. 

Shirley Chisholm Blazed the Way for Kamala Harris to be Biden’s VP Pick

“I am not the candidate for Black America, although I am Black and proud. I am not the candidate of the women’s movement of this country, although I am a woman and I’m equally proud of that. I am not the candidate of any political bosses or fat cats or special interests.”

Citizen's Arrest: How is This Still a Law? (video)

Hofstra professor (and HNN contributor) Alan J. Singer explains to Roy Wood, Jr. why "citizens arrest" is a legacy of the era of slavery and white supremacy. 

A Milestone for Palestinian Studies

Brown establishes what it says is the first endowed professorship in Palestinian studies at a U.S. research institution, held by Beshara Doumani.

Trump has Never Even Read a 'Children's Book' about Abraham Lincoln: Douglas Brinkley (Video)

Douglas Brinkley recounts part of an interview with Trump in which the President's lack of erudition was revealed. 

How the GOP Became the Party of Resentment

Historian Patrick Iber reflects on "Reaganland," the concluding volume of Rick Perlstein's genre-defining series of books on American conservatism, and urges readers to consider how the movement mobilized anger and resentment as opposed to high principle. 

The Unfinished Business of Women’s Suffrage

by Melissa Gira Grant

Historian Lisa Tetrault's book "The Myth of Seneca Falls" documents how white women leaders of the suffrage movement both excluded nonwhite women from leadership of the suffrage struggle but wrote the movement's founding histories to justify their position. These exclusions blind us to the way that millions of women's right to vote is restricted today.

White Author Reflects On Finding, Bringing Together Descendants Of Enslaved People In His Family (Audio)

Author Edward Ball discusses his two books examining the relationship of his white family to slavery and the Ku Klux Klan and the role of white Americans in racial reconcilation. 

Paul Seaver, Leading Historian of Early Modern England, Dies at 88

Paul Seaver, a distinguished historian of early modern England and dedicated university citizen, died Aug. 1. He was 88.

Thousands of Women Fought Against the Right to Vote. Their Reasons Still Resonate Today

Anya Jabour and Susan Goodier offer insight into the motives of women who opposed female suffrage.

After Falwell Stumbles, His Hometown Sees a Leader in Need of Redemption

Historians of religion including Grant Wacker, Anthea Butler and John Fea comment on the significance of Jerry Falwell, Jr.'s recent public scandals and the position of Liberty University in the evangelical world. 

Manhattan Beach to Present Bruce's Beach History, Community Awaits Historians' Voices

Alison Rose Jefferson had been scheduled to brief the Manhattan Beach City Council about how to commemorate a stretch of beach historically used by Black Californians barred from other parts of the coastline. Her participation ended under disuputed circumstances. 

Amid a Racial Reckoning, Teachers are Reconsidering how History is Taught

NBC News spoke with teachers around the country who said they were working to reshape lesson plans to better reflect the fullness of America's multicultural history.

Queens Powhatan and Pocahontas Democratic Club Considers Name Change

Columbia professor Mae Ngai, co-director for the school’s Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race, called the use of Pocahontas’ name “clueless.”

100 Years Later, These Activists Continue Their Ancestors’ Work

The New York Times highlights a group of contemporary scholars, writers who are direct descendants of leading figures in the movement for women's suffrage and racial equality in voting rights.

The Nation’s First Civil-Rights Law Needs to Be Fixed

Congress can amend the nation's first civil rights law to make explicit that it protects against both intentional discrimination and policies that perpetuate racial inequality. 

Isabel Wilkerson’s World-Historical Theory of Race and Caste

Wilkerson's book contends that what we know as racism must be understood as a system of social domination, not as a matter of group conflict or prejudice.

Eminent Scholar of Early U.S., Bernard Bailyn, Dies at 97

An acknowledged landmark in scholarship, Bernard Bailyn's “The Ideological Origins of the American Revolution” won the Pulitzer Prize and Bancroft Prize in 1968.