Historians in the News

US History: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

John Oliver takes a look at how the history of race in America is taught in schools, how we can make those teachings more accurate, and why it’s in everyone's best interest to understand the most realistic version of the past.

Why Trump’s Blunt Appeals to Suburban Voters May Not Work

“[Nixon's campaigns] understood something about race that Trump doesn’t understand,” [Matthew] Lassiter said. “Voters don’t want racial privilege challenged, but they don’t want to be explicitly reminded that racism is underneath their position.”

How the Greensboro Four Sit-In Sparked a Movement

Scholars including Jeanne Theoharis and Will Guzmán describe the roots and impact of the 1960 Woolworth sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina. 

5 Vice Presidential Candidates Who Made History

Historian Elizabeth Varon rates Andrew Johnson's selection as Vice President disastrous because of his ascenscion to the presidency. 

The Impact of White Evangelicals on U.S. Politics (Audio)

Historian Kristin Kobes Du Mez argues in "Jesus and John Wayne" that contemporary Evangelical political views are a product of the group's embrace of patriarchal authority and power, a situation that will not end when Trump leaves office. 

Massachusetts Senators Form Panel To Suggest New State Seal, Which Would Replace Version Native Americans Call Racist

The current seal depicts a Native man standing beneath a disembodied arm and sword, implying violent subjugation of the Indigenous people. 

Once Upon a Time, When America Paid Its Writers

In Jason Boog’s new book, "The Deep End," he offers colorful and often grim profiles of nine Depression-era writers and connects their stories to the struggles that writers face today. Even before our current economic crisis, it was a depressingly apt comparison.

Portland History Professor Says She Was Shot in the Head by Federal Agents

"This is my home. I was protesting peacefully. So why did federal troops shoot me in the head?" said professor Maureen Healy.

Will The Reckoning Over Racist Names Include These Prisons?

Historians including Robert Perkinson and Monica Muñoz Martinez discuss the impact of having today's cruelly punitive prisons named for racist figures of the Jim Crow era.

Present Absences: A Century of Struggle in Palestine (Review)

For Khalidi, the British mandate established two parallel realities in Palestine: an embryonic nation-building project for the Jewish minority and the continuation of colonial policy for the Arab majority, whose question of self-determination was left unaddressed.

Gus Bilirakis Embraces Aide With Background In Sons Of Confederate Veterans

The Sons of Confederate Veterans pushes a historical narrative that "distorts the truth" said historian Adam Domby.

Milos Jakes, Czech Communist Leader, Is Dead at 97

Mr. Jakes “came to be seen as the epitome of an out-of-touch Communist Party functionary,” said professor Mary Heimann.

Monument Movement: Historians Ask Who is Missing from Community Memorials

Dickinson College's House Divided Project researched the complex role of the school in slavery. The result? A dormitory and a gateway to the campus will be renamed to acknowledge prominent African-Americans in the college's history.

Why Portland? The City's History of Protest Takes an Exceptional Turn

The "Portlandia" image -- of 1990s slackers driven by liberal ingenuity -- isn't entirely true to the city's history, says former professor Randy Blazak.

Who Tells Your Story: Joanne B. Freeman on "Hamilton" and History (Tuesday 7/28 6:00 PM EDT)

Join Yale historian Joanne Freeman for a discussion of the historical accuracy and significance of Lin-Manuel Miranda's musical "Hamilton." 

Disinvestment in Black and Latino Chicago Neighborhoods is Rooted in Policy. Here’s how these Communities Continue to be Negatively Impacted.

“When they were protesting in 1963, it was a desegregation protest but the things that people were chanting were like, ‘What do we want? Books! When do we want them? Now!’” said historian Elizabeth Todd-Breland.

Sean Wilentz: On the Importance of Studying and Debating American History (Podcast)

Wilentz argues that understanding America’s past—from the inspiring to the shameful—is vital for what he calls informed citizenship.

Princeton Prof Eddie Glaude Talks New Book ‘Begin Again: James Baldwin’s America’

Glaude’s book reminds us that the duty to turn things around is ours. Baldwin is our guide.

Berkeley Talks: Why Racial Equity Belongs In The Study Of Economics (Podcast)

An interdisciplinary panel of scholars including historian Daina Ramey Berry discussed some of the limiting assumptions prevalent in economic thought and what the discipline could learn from others.   

When Is a Nazi Salute Not a Nazi Salute?

by Matt Seaton

A controversy has unfolded about a stock image caption which suggests Senator Burton K. Wheeler gave a Nazi salute at a 1941 America First Rally.