Historians in the News

Confederate Monuments Are Coming Down. Now, What Do We Do About Memorials to Slaveholders like Washington and Jefferson?

Historians Paul Finkelman, Martha S. Jones, and Kirk Savage discuss the legacies of such monuments and suggest how to reckon with the damage they, and the figures they represent, have caused.

As Monuments Fall, How Does The World Reckon With A Racist Past?

Historian Kevin Gaines discusses the growing movement to challenge memorialization of racists in public places and suggests its cross-racial nature makes it harder to ignore. 

The Western Origins of the “Southern Strategy”

by Bruce Bartlett

The growing importance of racially conservative white Republicans in the western states after World War II helped present southern whites with a viable alternative to the Democratic Party. 

Abolitionist “Wide Awakes” Were Woke Before “Woke”

What the "Wide Awakes" helped create was focus in muddled political times, a whipping up of the enthusiasm of other voters: “By the end of 1860, the nation was wide awake.”

Naomi Oreskes: Feminist Science is Better Science

Historian Andrew Needham interviews Naomi Oreskes about her new book Why Trust Science and the crisis of expertise in American society. 

Parents, Historians Urge DC’s Mayor Bowser To Initiate Wilson High Name Change

Honoring a person like Wilson sends a poor message when in general, society should be honoring the ideals of diversity, respect, equality and inclusion said Judith Ingram, co-founder of the D.C. History and Justice Collective.

Millsaps History Professor Explains History Behind Mississippi State Flag

Professor Stephanie Rolph says that lawmakers in 1894 chose the design to appease Confederate veterans.

Scholar Robin D.G. Kelley on how Today’s Abolitionist Movement can Fundamentally Change the Country

"Part of defunding the police is a recognition that the police, as constituted, make life more dangerous for vulnerable populations even as it creates a sense of false safety for white people."

Why A History Professor Says ‘Racist’ Emancipation Memorial Shouldn’t Come Down (audio)

Protesters want to remove the Emancipation Memorial in Washington, D.C. NPR’s Michel Martin speaks with Yale history professor David Blight about why he thinks the memorial should stay up.

Beyond ‘White Fragility’: If you Want to Let Freedom Ring, Hammer on Economic Injustice.

by Jamelle Bouie

The histories of Reconstruction by W.E.B. Du Bois and Eric Foner, as well as the later speeches and writings of Martin Luther King, Jr. demonstrate that the cause of racial justice has never been separable from closing the vast economic gulf between owners and workers in America. 

The Asian American Response to Black Lives Matter Is Part of a Long, Complicated History

“Asian Americans owe so much of their presence in this country to the Black struggle for freedom — from birthright citizenship to the ability to tell our stories in education and the culture to the civil rights we enjoy,” says author Jeff Chang.

UHA Summer 2020 Virtual Roundtables On Race, Policing And Abolition (JULY 1)

The Urban History Association will live stream a panel discussion on the history of racist police violence and organization to fight against it. 

Erasing History or Making History? Race, Racism, and the American Memorial Landscape: July 2

The American Historical Association will host a Zoom discussion of memorials and racism on July 2 at 12:30 PM EDT.

AHA Statement on the History of Racist Violence in the United States (June 2020)

George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers cannot be understood in isolation, as a tragic moment detached from a familiar narrative of “who we as Americans really are.” What happened to George Floyd stands well within our national tradition.

Policing the World (Review)

by Andrew Lanham

Since World War II, the United States has spread its style of policing—and police technology—around the world as a way to exert control. This link between modern policing and the national security state means they will have to be democratized together.

21 Lessons From America's Worst Moments

Historians reflect on the lessons to be learned from the worst episodes of American history (if Americans can look unflinchingly on them). 

The Case for a Statue of Limitations

According to historian Christopher Phelps, Confederate monuments “are a representation of the way people in the early 20th century tried to justify that past and reconcile it with national unity.”

Top French Historian Slams Macron's Hardline Stance on Statues

Historian Nicolas Offenstadt told French radio that Macron had a made a "hugely damaging confusion between history and memory that will not help public debate in France."

What Is Owed?

While making the case for reparations, Nikole Hannah-Jones cites historians Eric Foner, Robin D.G. Kelley, Keri Leigh Merritt, Ira Katznelson, and James D. Anderson.

Monument Avenue is Richmond’s Racist Row. Will Tearing it Down Redeem a City?

Historians Kevin Levin, Karen Cox, Ashleigh Lawrence-Sanders, and Michael Dickinson weigh-in on the history behind the Virginia street with five Confederate monuments.