Historians in the News

The Customer is Always... Insufferable? The History of Today's Beleaguered Service Worker

Writer Amanda Mull checks with historians Susan Strasser and William Leach to explain why American diners, shoppers and passengers seem to be driven to torment servers, clerks and flight attendants. 

Historian Rebecca Hall's New Graphic Novel Highlights Women's Role in Slave Revolts

With illustrator Hugo Martinez, Rebecca Hall's debut graphic novel examines women's roles in slave rebellions during the Middle Passage and in the Americas. 

New Book of Family History Recreates the Anti-Nazi Resistance in Germany

Rebecca Donner, great-great-neice of Mildred Harnack, an American-born woman executed in 1943 for anti-Nazi activity in Germany, has written a book of family history that also shows the melting away of German delusions about Hitler's intentions and power. 

The Liberals Who Weakened Trust in Government

by Kim Phillips-Fein

Historian Kim Phillips-Fein writes that Paul Sabin's new book "Public Citizens" adds to understanding of the rise of conservatism and the power of attacks on "big government" by focusing on the role of liberal public interest groups in exposing the capture of the liberal regulatory state by big business interests. 

A Century Ago, FDR Was Stricken with Polio, Changing History

"It was a transformative moment in American history, and the start of the “central event” in the life of one of the country’s greatest presidents, historian Hugh Gregory Gallagher has written."

Heather Ann Thompson and Joe William Trotter, Jr. on the Value of Urban History

The Urban History Association's outgoing and incoming presidents discuss how the COVID pandemic and global protests, among other events in recent tumultuous years underscore the importance of urban historians' contributions to public discourse. 

The Color Line (Review Essay)

by Annette Gordon-Reed

New books examine the innovations in data-driven research that WEB DuBois developed as intellectual weapons in his battle against the rising tide of global white supremacy in the early 20th century. 

Are the Democrats About to Repeat Mistakes that Led to Jim Crow?

If Democrats won't go all out to protect the franchise for their most loyal constituencies, how can they expect to govern? The history of the Jim Crow south suggests they won't, according to historian Richard White. 

Gloria Ratti: Historian of the Boston Marathon Who Made History Herself

Gloria Ratti was not a runner, but supported the first generation of women marathoners while pushing race organizers to implement other innovations that added to the growth of marathon running in America. 

Historian: Americans All Need To Study Mexico

NPR's Kelsey Snell speaks with Harvard history professor Gabriela Soto Laveaga about her recent op-ed titled, "Every American needs to take a history of Mexico class."

The Revolution that Wasn't: What did 1960s Radicals Achieve?

by Michael Kazin

A new book of narrative history of the 1960s New Left repeats a common error: mistaking rhetoric for revolution and ignoring a key outcome of the decade: that the right emerged more powerful, argues reviewer Michael Kazin. 

Emails Show U of Mississippi Officials Concerned that Fired Historian Criticized Private Prison Ties, Upset Donors

"Felber drew a line between the university’s history of slavery, its hand in the creation of the slave plantation-like Parchman Prison and one celebrated instructor’s financial ties to a private-prison corporation."

Bouie: Manchin and Sinema Have Their History Wrong

Bipartisan support for 1960s civil rights legislation was an artifact of a fleeting moment of ideological diversity within the two parties. When it comes to voting and civil rights laws, partisan polarization has been the historical norm, and it's nothing to fear now when ballot access is at risk across the nation.

Professors: Tennessee Students Don't Learn Enough Black History

Despite charges of a "politically correct" curriculum, Tennessee history professors report that students enter their classes with almost no exposure to Black (or Native American) history from their high school studies. 

American Education Is Founded on White Race Theory

In the 1890s the National Education Association worked to standardize the national secondary curriculum, deciding what subjects were worthy of study, and in the process developing a white supremacist curriculum in history. 

The Border Patrol Helped Create the "Browning" of America

The family story of historian Mireya Loza and her father Pedro illustrates an irony of militarized border enforcement: Labor migrants who once contemplated returning to Mexico or Central America were forced to stay in the US and raise American families.

Washington and Lee Names New Academic Center for Teaching Race after Ted Delaney

The late Ted Delaney worked as a custodian at the Virginia university before earning a bachelor's degree and returning as a professor and ultimately history department chair. He was a longtime advocate for the university to address its links to the Confederacy and Lost Cause mythology. 

Charles Blow: ‘The Lost Cause’ Is Back

by Charles M. Blow

"Republicans are on a political crusade to protect lore and lies. They know that many Americans, many of them their voters, will take a lie over guilt and atonement, every day of the week."

Revisiting Portland a Year after the Rioting

Elliott Young, a history professor and police reform advocate, is among the Portand residents interviewed about the state of the city a year after destructive protests over police violence drew the far left, far right, and federal law enforcement to the city. 

Haiti, Cuba, and the History of U.S. Involvement in the Caribbean (Virtual Event July 29)

Michael J. Bustamante and Alyssa Goldstein Sepinwall are featured in a discussion of American intervention in the Caribbean and its relationship to current turmoil in Haiti and Cuba. July 29, 2:00 PM.