By Tiana Wilson Many recent studies on chattel slavery in the Atlantic World have decentered the voices of the colonizers in an effort to creatively reimagine the inner lives of Black people, both enslaved and “free.” However, narrating the complex ways race, gender, and sexuality played out in a colonial setting beyond violence has proven […]
Black Women’s History in the US: Past & Present
By Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross A few years ago, we were approached by Beacon Press to write a history of Black women in the United States. We felt both honored and overwhelmed by the task. Before we began, we needed to first take a survey of the field and understand our place […]
Dispossessed Lives: Enslaved Women, Violence, and the Archive by Marisa Fuentes (2016)
By Tiana Wilson After reading this book in three different graduate seminar courses, I can confidently argue that Marisa Fuentes’ Dispossessed Lives: Enslaved Women, Violence, and the Archive is one of the most important texts of our time, and a must read for anyone interested in overcoming the limitations of archival research. For many scholars […]
Black Women in Black Power
by Ashley Farmer One has to only look at a few headlines to see that many view black women organizers as important figures in combating today’s most pressing problems. Articles urging mainstream America to “support black women” or “trust black women” such as the founders of the Black Lives Matter Movement are popular. Publications, such […]
Why I Ban the Word “Feminism” from My Classes
by Jacqueline Jones In each of my graduate seminars, at the beginning of the semester, I caution students not to use certain words I consider problematic; these words can actually hinder our understanding of a complex past. Commonly used—or rather, overused—in everyday conversation as well as academic discourse, the banned words include “power,” “freedom,” and […]
Women’s March, Like Many Before It, Struggles for Unity
Originally posted on the blog of The American Prospect, January 6, 2017. By Laurie Green For those who believe Donald Trump’s election has further legitimized hatred and even violence, a “Women’s March on Washington” scheduled for January 21 offers an outlet to demonstrate mass solidarity across lines of race, religion, age, gender, national identity, and […]
Historical Perspectives on The Birth of a Nation (2016)
“They killing people everywhere for no reason at all but being black.” —Cherry (the wife of Nat Turner played by Aja Naomi King) By Ronald Davis The number of books, novels, articles, plays and movies committed to the life and times of Nat Turner is vast. None of these sources is without controversy. It should […]
Great Books on Women’s History: United States
Not Even Past asked the UT Austin History faculty to recommend great books for Women’s History Month. The response was overwhelming so we will be posting their suggestions throughout the month. Here are some terrific book recommendations on women and gender in the United States. Penne Restad recommends: Jill Lepore, The Secret History of Wonder Woman (2014). […]
Beyoncé as Historian: Black Power at the DPLA
Edward Shore revisits the controversy surround Beyoncé’s Super Bowl 50 halftime show that paid tribute to #BlackLivesMatter and the Black Panthers. He uses Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) primary source sets to contextualize Beyoncé’s message of protest and to explore the history of slavery, Jim Crow, and the Black Power Movement.
Ordinary Yet Infamous: Hannah Mary Tabbs and the Disembodied Torso
This case, this story, and the black woman at the heart of it forces us to move past binary notions of race, gender, and sexuality but also, too, it resists snap judgments about who exactly is good or evil and calls into question the validity of standard notions of justice.