My third article to be published this week is now live. “While Monuments are Being Removed, a Historian Asks Questions” is published with History News Network. It’s an important one, but one sure to stir up feelings! Enjoy! (Don’t send hate… Read More ›
historical memory
“Generation” – Hidden Power of Words Series, #33
“Generation” (in the context of “social generations,” such as baby boomers or Get Y) might well be another candidate for my “banned words” list! As with “traditional,” “generation” focuses on the experiences and values of those privileged in a given… Read More ›
Funerals, Rhetorics, and Constructions of History
Clichés about “funerals being for the living” abound. Funerals assist with grieving and with accepting one’s own mortality, popular mores say. Funerals can also hinder this grieving process: Without realizing it, people sometimes talk about the deceased in ways that… Read More ›
The “Brutal Black Buck” and How To Get Away With Murder
How To Get Away With Murder’s 2018-2019 mid-season finale overpowers and undermines its recent comments about flaws in the judicial system, especially when it comes to perceptions of and treatments of Black men. Nate Lahey (Billy Brown) receives unstable, developing word… Read More ›
(Ignoring) Laws, Historical Narratives, and Brown v. Board of Education (1954)
I had a new thought/question on the topic of how we discuss Brown v. Board of Education and other aspects of history. I have understood and observed for about a decade now that there is a gap between the law and… Read More ›
King would not be surprised.
….History prefers legends to men. It prefers nobility to brutality, soaring speeches to quiet deeds. History remembers the battle, but forgets the blood. Whatever history remembers of me, if it remembers anything at all, it shall only remember a fraction of… Read More ›
Rethinking the History of Political Parties during the 20th Century in the United States (A Few Thoughts)
As a result of the Civil Rights Revolution for Black United Statesians during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s, the Democratic and Republican parties essentially switched positions on major ideological issues, correct? Or put another way, the “Solid South” abandoned the… Read More ›
AJP’s take on Nate Parker’s “The Birth of a Nation” (2016)
I just finished watching The Birth of a Nation (2016), which was released for home viewing today. While there has been a great deal of excitement, frustration and disappointment surrounding this film, I was surprisingly pleased. Below I provide some immediate, working… Read More ›