Last year I was contacted by researchers at PBS’s Finding Your Roots to help out with interpreting a document for a future episode. I was unaware of who the subject was until last night. Turned out the subject was filmmaker Kasi Lemmons. The episode centered largely around a post-Civil War newspaper article about a Confederate Read more
black Confederates
Below is the latest video from Atun-Shei Films. It is a highly entertaining video that thoroughly dismantles the Black Confederate myth. Those of you who have read Searching for Black Confederates will notice that a large chunk of the content comes from the book. I very much appreciate that the the book is referenced in Read more
On this day in 2015 the Confederate battle flag was permanently removed from the capitol grounds in Columbia, South Carolina. It touched off a wave of flag and monument removals across the South. Not everyone was happy about the decision, especially the Sons of Confederate Veterans. In Charleston they attempted to sway public opinion against Read more
I got a real kick out of this short video featuring Virginia Flagger Barry Isenhour and Teresa Roane, who used to work as an archivist at the Museum of the Confederacy and now with the United Daughters of the Confederacy. The video posted just yesterday focuses on black Confederates. I am singled out, along with Read more
I’ve written a number of posts on this blog as well as in my new book about Dr. Henry Louis Gates’s confusion about the black Confederate myth. In this webinar sponsored by PBS Education he managed to confuse it even further. Dr. Gates is still referencing his colleague John Stauffer’s piece in The Root, which Read more
February is Black History Month. Started by Carter G. Woodson in the early twentieth century as Black History Week the month is popularly viewed as an opportunity to highlight the rich history of African Americans. This is certainly true, but for organizations like the Sons of Confederate Veterans it is an opportunity to spread the Read more
Back in October I spent some time with C-SPAN to talk about my new book, Searching for Black Confederates: The Civil War’s Most Persistent Myth and the current controversy about Confederate monuments on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. I really enjoyed this interview and the opportunity to talk about Read more
This morning I am getting ready to head to the airport for a flight home to Boston after three wonderful days in North Carolina that included talks and interviews in Chapel Hill, Raleigh, and Pembroke. These extended trips are exhausting, but it has given me the opportunity to meet and talk with some wonderful people Read more
Today I am headed to North Carolina for three talks. Later this afternoon I will stop at North Carolina State University. Tomorrow it’s the University of North Carolina-Pembroke and on Wednesday evening I will be at FlyLeaf Books in Chapel Hill. I hope some of you can make it. This video is as confused an interpretation Read more
Now Available: Signed/personalized copies of Searching for Black Confederates. Contact me here for all the details. On Tuesday evening I finished up an 8-day book tour at the Virginia Museum of History & Culture in Richmond. It was the perfect place to wrap up this leg of the tour. A large crowd showed up and Read more