Month / July 2022

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Anderson Provides Historical Context on Second Amendment for ‘Oprah Daily’

Dr. Carol Anderson recently wrote a piece for Oprah Daily on the historical and contemporary relationships between the Second Amendment, anti-Blackness, and formal slavery. The article, “The Second Amendment Enshrines Anti-Blackness, Argues Writer and Legal Scholar Carol Anderson,” draws heavily from Anderson’s most recent book, The Second: Race and Guns in an Unequal America (Bloomsbury, 2021). Anderson is Charles Howard Candler Professor, Chair of African American Studies, and Associated Faculty in the History Department. Read an excerpt of the article below as well as the full piece here.

“We are, therefore, dealing with the consequences and horrific costs of embedding anti-Blackness into the Second Amendment of the Constitution. No one is safe. Not in our schools. Not in our neighborhood grocery stores. Not in our churches or synagogues or mosques. Not where we work. Not where we go to relax—at a nightclub, a concert, or a movie theater. Not even where we celebrate the founding of this nation.

“With 400 million guns in circulation, and no safety to be found, it is time to strip away the untouchable aura of the Second Amendment and recognize how sullied and dangerous it really is. America needs to give the Second Amendment a hard second look.“

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Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation Supports Billups’ Research on Anti-Busing Violence

The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Foundation has awarded doctoral candidate Robert Billups a travel research grant to support two weeks of research in their collections. Centered on anti-busing violence in the 1970s, the research will inform the final chapter of Billups’ dissertation, titled “‘Reign of Terror’: Anti–Civil Rights Terrorism in the United States, 1955–1976.” Drs. Joseph Crespino and Allen Tullos advise Billups’ dissertation.

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Annie Fang Li (’22) Named Marshal Scholar

2022 honors student Annie Fang Li has received a Marshall Scholarship for postgraduate study at the University of Oxford. She wrote her honors thesis with Dr. Chris Suh on “San Francisco Chinatown to the American South: Chinese American Christians in the Civil Rights Movement, 1963-1966.” Annie did a double major in History & Sociology. There are many professors who enriched her time at Emory, including her Honors Thesis committee members, Dr. Suh, Dr. Carol Anderson, & Dr. Helen Jin Kim (Candler School of Theology). In addition, she is grateful to Dr. Tracy L. Scott (Sociology), Dr. Pamela Hall (Religion), and Dr. Tehila Sasson (History). Courses with Dr. Anderson (Civil Rights Movement) and Dr. Suh (Asian-American History) led Annie to declare a major in History.

Annie held a James Weldon Johnson Institute for the Study of Race & Difference Undergraduate Honors Fellowship to support her thesis writing. During her time in college, Annie served as founding Editor-in-Chief of Emory In Via, a journal of Christian thought. As an IDEAS fellow, she was the Communications Fellow and Teaching Assistant for two sidecar classes. She was also involved in Residence Life, Asian Pacific Islander Desi American Activists (APIDAA), and Journey Church of Atlanta.

Congratulations, Annie!

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C-SPAN’s Book TV Goes In Depth with Carol Anderson

Dr. Carol Anderson was recently a guest on the C-SPAN program Book TV. The conversation, “In Depth: Carol Anderson,” centered on voting rights, gun regulation, and race in America. Anderson’s books include White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of our Racial Divide (Bloomsbury, 2016), One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression is Destroying our Democracy (Bloomsbury, 2018), and, most recently, The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America (Bloomsbury, 2022). Anderson is Charles Howard Candler Professor in African-American Studies and Associated Faculty in the History Department. Watch the conversation on Book TV here: “In Depth: Carol Anderson.”

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Lipstadt Makes First Trip Abroad as Special Envoy

Dr. Deborah E. Lipstadt, fresh from her confirmation as the U.S. State Department’s special envoy to combat antisemitism, recently completed her first official trip abroad in this role. Lipstadt travelled to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where she discussed how to combat anti-Jewish sentiment with leaders in government and civil society. Multiple news outlets covered Lipstadt’s trip. Find the articles below:

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Anderson on PBS: ‘The Significance of Juneteenth’

Dr. Carol Anderson, Charles Howard Candler Professor and Chair of African-American Studies, appeared on the PBS show Amanpour & Co. last month to discuss the significance of the Juneteenth emancipation holiday. The U.S. government recognized Juneteenth, which marks the day in 1865 that the last slaves in Galveston, Texas learned that they were free, as a federal holiday in 2021. Anderson is the author, most recently, of The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America (Bloomsbury, 2021). Watch the interview with Anderson here: “The Significance of Juneteenth.”

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Billups Receives Wardlaw Fellowship for Texas Studies from Baylor University

Graduate student Robert Billups has received the Wardlaw Fellowship for Texas Studies from Baylor University Libraries. The fellowship provides up to $1,500 to a visiting scholar or researcher who wishes to use the holdings of Baylor’s Texas Collection. Billups will conduct three weeks of research that will inform his dissertation, “‘Reign of Terror’: Anti–Civil Rights Terrorism in the United States, 1955–1976,” as well as a future article about international patterns of antisemitism.

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Lipstadt at ‘AJC’ Global Forum: ‘Can Governments Win the Fight Against Antisemitism?’

Fresh from her recent installation as the U.S. State Department’s special envoy to combat antisemitism, Dr. Deborah E. Lipstadt recently participated in the American Jewish Committee’s 2022 Global Forum. Lipstadt sat for a conversation with Katharina von Schnurbein, the European Commission’s Coordinator for Combating Anti-Semitism and Fostering Jewish Life, as well as Simone Rodan-Benzaquen, the Europe Managing Director for the American Jewish Committee. The discussion centered on how governments can effectively combat antisemitism. Lipstadt is Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies and Associated Faculty in the History Department. Read/watch the discussion via the AJC Global Voice.

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Anderson Comments on Buffalo Massacre in ‘TIME’ and ‘Slate’

Dr. Carol Anderson, Charles Howard Candler Professor and Chair of African-American Studies, was recently interviewed by journalists from TIME and Slate in the wake of the Buffalo massacre earlier this year. Carried out at a local grocery store, the racially-motivated shooting left 10 people dead. Anderson’s contributions in these interviews draw especially from insights in her most recent book, The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America (Bloomsbury, 2021). Read each of the conversations here: “What the Buffalo Shooting Says About Black America’s Fraught Relationship With Guns” (TIME) and “The Dangerous Idea That Links the Buffalo Shooting and the Insurrection” (Slate).

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Lipstadt on PBS: ‘Racism and Antisemitism “Firmly Intertwined”‘

Dr. Deborah E. Lipstadt, Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies and Associated Faculty in the History Department, was recently interviewed about the links between racism and antisemitism on the PBS program “Amanpour & Co.” Lipstadt spoke on the heels of her installation as the State Department’s special envoy to combat antisemitism, an ambassador-level position. Read the full transcript and watch the interview here: “Amb. Lipstadt: Racism and Antisemitism “Firmly Intertwined.”