Historians in the News

The Black Republic: African Americans and the Fate of Haiti

by National History Center

Professor Brandon Byrd's talk to the National History Center is now viewable online. 

People Longing for Movie Theaters During the 1918 Flu Pandemic Feels Very Familiar in 2021

As in 2020, public health concerns closed movie theaters in 1918. But then, without home streaming technology, a fledgling industry was threatened with ruin. Hollywood bounced back because so many Americans missed the theater experience.

Historian Richard Bell Talks Hamilton’s Facts, Fictions at Library Society

University of Maryland historian Richard Bell says that the hit play was welcome for drawing attention to the challenges of the founding era, but didn't really address the dynamics of racism in colonial society. 

‘Badass Women’ Of Chicago History Highlighted In Virtual Tour

Many Chicagoans wouldn't recognize the names of Enid Yandell, Bessie Coleman, Naomi Weisstein or Maria Tallchief. A new virtual tour hopes to change that. 

‘We Had a Little Real Estate Problem’: Native American Comedians Get Their Due | Book review

Charlie Hill’s TV debut, making him the first Indigenous comedian in prime time, is one of the milestones that Kliph Nesteroff chronicles in We Had a Little Real Estate Problem, an illuminating and stereotype-busting history of Native Americans and comedy.

How Dr. Seuss Responded to Critics Who Called Out His Racism

by Rebecca Onion

If anyone wants to examine the particulars of Dr. Seuss Enterprises' decision to discontinue the publication of six of the late author's books before jumping in to culture war combat, writer Rebecca Onion's interview with children's literature scholar Philip Nel is a good place to start. 

Discovery Of Schoolhouse For Black Children Now Offers A History Lesson

The discovery of an 18th century schoolhouse on the campus of William & Mary offers a chance for public historians to explain the complexity of Black education in colonial Virginia, which taught reading in the hopes of indoctrinating both free and enslaved children with pro-slavery ideology.

Online Roundtable: Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor’s ‘Race for Profit’

Black Perspectives, the blog of the African American Intellectual History Society, will sponsor a virtual roundtable on the award-winning "Race For Profit: How Banks and the Real Estate Industry Undermined Black Homeownership" with new essays being released beginning March 8. 

Should Black Northerners Move Back to the South?

by Tanisha C. Ford

Historian Tanisha C. Ford reviews Charles M. Blow's book, which advocates for a Reverse Great Migration to empower both Black Americans and progressive policies. She concludes it's an intriguing idea but oversimplifies the history of migration, disenfranchisement, and activism by Black southerners and their allies.

The History Of Voting Rights In America

Historian Julian Zelizer connects the history of voting rights activism to efforts by states today to make voting more difficult. 

What China's Last Major War Tells Us About How it Will Fight the Next One

An examination of the roots of war between Vietnam and China, which may suggest that Beijing is willing to initiate military action in the future. China's poor military performance in this conflict led to reform and modernization of the People's Liberation Army. 

John Muir in Native America

by Rebecca Solnit

John Muir's conservationist vision erased the historical and ongoing presence of indigenous people on the land. Can the environmental movement and the national parks change direction? 

Mock Slave Auctions, Racist Lessons: How US History Class Often Traumatizes, Dehumanizes Black Students

Experts acknowledge that teaching the history of slavery as a brutal and dehumanizing system is difficult. The persistence of assignments that impose humiliation on students shows more work is needed. 

'More Dangerous And More Widespread': Conspiracy Theories Spread Faster Than Ever

Kathryn Olmsted says that conspiracy theories have always been part of American politics, but they have become more widespread in the last ten years, and their endorsement by a former president is unprecedented. 

The 1976 Swine Flu Fiasco

David Parsons of the "Nostalgia Trap" history podcast joins Mass For Shut-Ins to discuss the Swine Flue vaccine fiasco and how its history has been abused by today's anti-vax movement.

The Mega-Ode

The Urban History Association accentuates the positive in academic culture as urbanists salute the people who made a difference for them. 

Part of Being a Domestic Goddess in 17th-Century Europe Was Making Medicines

Historians Sharon Strocchia, Stephanie Koscak, and Elaine Leong offer insight into the roles of women in producing and administering medicine in the early modern period, both in domestic and public settings. The subject may receive increased attention through a digitization project of the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington. 

Debunking the Myth of the Lost Cause: A Lie Embedded in American History

by Karen L. Cox

Karen L. Cox examines the cultural myth of the Lost Cause.

How a Wave of Segregationist Tributes, from Streets to Schools, Entrenched the Idea of White Supremacy

Understanding the stakes of renaming public buildings, streets, or schools requires understanding the purposeful politics that attached the names of Confederates to public spaces a century ago, say Virginia historians Dan Margolies and Calvin Pearson.

Denied a Teaching Job for Being ‘Too Black,’ She Started Her Own School — And a Movement

Scholars Sharon Harley and Jenifer Barclay discuss the obstacles of colorism that Nannie Helen Burroughs overcame to launch an influential school for young Black women and lead the civil rights struggles of the early twentieth century.