Historians in the News

A Century Ago, One Lawmaker Went After the Most Powerful Cops in Texas. Then They Went After Him.

by Tim Murphy

The Texas Rangers were vicious enforcers of white power. J.T. Canales was the only Mexican American in the legislature. He lost the fight, but the reckoning he sought is finally underway. Historians Monica Muñoz Martinez and Doug Swanson explain.

“For Those on Both Sides”: An Interview with Mary Ziegler about Abortion and the Law in America

Recently, Florida State University law professor Mary Ziegler sat down with Nursing Clio to talk about her new book, Abortion and the Law in America: Roe v. Wade to the Present. The book illustrates how the question of “abortion rights” is only one piece of the puzzle – rather both antiabortion and pro-choice advocates have spent decades in a tug-of-war over policy, funding issues, and larger questions about public health.

A 'Very Dark History': Oregon's Racist Past Fuels Ongoing Protests Against Injustice In Portland

Christopher McKnight Nichols, who teaches history at Oregon State University and splits time between the school’s base in Corvallis and Portland, said the long trail of discrimination in Oregon informed the protests in a liberal city long known for its activism.

Planned Parenthood To Remove Margaret Sanger’s Name From N.Y. Clinic Over Eugenics Support

“The problem with Sanger was she was so single minded that she was willing to align herself with anybody,” Margaret Sanger Papers Project founder Esther Katz said. “These are problematic positions. She did speak to the Klan. But I think obliterating her...doesn’t allow us to discuss this in any way or debate it.”

‘The Pandemic Could Get Much Worse’: Public Health Historian On Whether Another Lockdown Is The Only Way To Avoid Catastrophe

Public health historian John Barry is the author of “The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History.”

Who Were the Freedom Riders?

Representative John Lewis was among the 13 original Freedom Riders, who encountered violence and resistance as they rode buses across the South, challenging the nation’s segregation laws.

‘Woefully Uninformed’: Kanye West Slammed for Saying Harriet Tubman ‘Never Actually Freed the Slaves’

“Kanye West is in desperate need of a crash course in American History,” said historian Erica Armstrong Dunbar.

Historians Debate America's History of Racism and Confederate Monuments

Experts interviewed by ABC News say erasing the past isn't the answer to calls for justice, police reform and an end to structural racism.

Another Monument to White Supremacy That Should Come Down? The Electoral College

A new book by Harvard historian Alexander Keyssar examines the racist history of how Americans pick presidents.

Author James W. Loewen: Sundown Towns in Southern Illinois Should Acknowledge Racist Past, Take Steps to Change

“First, they need to admit it: Yes, we did this,” said Loewen.

Memphis Marker Noting Nathan Bedford Forrest's Slave Trading Apparently Vandalized

Historian Tim Huebner, who was involved in the placement of the marker, believes it was broken intentionally.

Reginald Moore, Sugar Land 95 Activist and “a People’s Historian,” Leaves Behind a Legacy of Endurance

Armed with a voice and passion both larger than life, Moore began a community’s crusade to demand historical recognition from city officials, and pioneered a new chapter in Texas history. Rice University Professor Caleb McDaniel says "it's worth stressing what he brought to Rice" by partering with the university to develop an archive of his efforts to memorialize the convict-lease system.

Living History Or Playing War, Brooksville Raid Reenactment Ends After 40 Years

Glenn LaFantasie and Kevin M. Levin comment on Civil War Reenactments as a 40 year-old Florida event is cancelled in 2020. 

President's Statement on SHEAR 2020

by Douglas R. Egerton

The President of the Society for the History of the Early American Republic responds to the controversy provoked by Daniel Feller's remarks in the organization's virtual plenary session, which included repeated quotations of racial slurs from primary sources, a defense of Andrew Jackson, and harsh words for unnamed historians writing for the broader public.

Victory Gardens Were More About Solidarity Than Survival

“Americans like to portray that they worked hard and would have starved had they not gardened,” said Allan M. Winkler, a distinguished professor emeritus of history at Miami University of Ohio. “Victory gardens were a symbol of abundance and doing it yourself, but that was more symbolism than reality.”

The Need to Teach the History Behind Current Events Has Rarely Been Clearer. Here’s How Some Teachers Are Getting Ready

As teachers face a new sense of urgency when it comes to teaching topics related to current events, the Philadelphia-based NCC hopes to arm middle- and high-school teachers with the knowledge needed to ground their discussions in a deeper understanding of the history of topics ranging from slavery and Reconstruction to federalism and women’s suffrage.

Student Visas (Past Present Podcast, Episode 237)

The Past Present podcast discusses the recent restrictions on student visas.

The Deep History—and Troubling Impact—of Sports Teams Using Native American Mascots

Adrienne Keene — a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and faculty member at Brown University’s American Studies and Ethnic Studies department, who is also the author of the Native Appropriations blog and a co-host of the All My Relations podcast — spoke to TIME about the history of Native American mascots and imagery.

“Do You Think You’re Not Involved?” The Racial Reckoning of “Blood at the Root”

A charge of rape north of Atlanta in 1912 led not only to a lynching but to a violent and total purge of African Americans from Forsyth County that lasted generations. Patrick Phillips's Blood at the Root examines the purge and its legacy.

Arkansas History Books Carried Rebel Slant

Arkansas historians Kenneth Barnes and Carl H. Moneyhon discuss the political influence of Confederate sympathizers and white supremacy over the content of history books in the state.