Dr. Danielle Wiggins, a 2018 graduate of the U.S. History doctoral program, has published her first monograph: Black Excellence: Atlanta and the Making of Modern Black Liberalism (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2025). Framed by Atlanta in the 1970s and ’80s, Black Excellence “offers a provocative new history of modern black liberalism by situating the seemingly conservative tendencies of black elected officials in the post–civil rights era within neoliberal American politics and an enduring black liberal tradition.” Marcia Chatelain, author of Franchise: The Golden Arches in Black America, describes Wiggins’ work as a “richly researched and beautifully written analysis of the role of Black liberals, a complicated group of scholars, activists, and leaders, who sought racial justice while holding onto antiquated, moralistic, and harmful views of the Black communities that needed justice the most.” Wiggins recently joined the history department at Georgetown University as an assistant professor. She completed her dissertation under the advisement of Dr. Joseph Crespino, Senior Associate Dean of Faculty and Divisional Dean of Humanities and Social Sciences and the Jimmy Carter Professor of History. Read more about Black Excellence via University of Pennsylvania Press.