Professor Hank Klibanoff, James M. Cox Jr. Professor of Journalism and Associated Faculty in the History Department, recently spoke before the City Club of Cleveland about his work on racially-motivated killings in the U.S. South during the Civil Rights era and since. Klibanoff founded the Georgia Civil Rights Cold Cases Project and is the host of the Buried Truths podcast. He was also recently confirmed by the U.S. Senate to the Federal Civil Rights Cold Case Review Board. Klibanoff’s talk in Cleveland is available on The Sound of Ideas, Ideastream Public Media’s weekday morning news and information program focusing on Northeast Ohio: “Examining racial murders of the Civil Rights era, and drawing connections to hate crimes of today.”
Category / Antiracism
Anderson Speaks on Voter Disenfranchisement at Juneteenth Gala
Dr. Carol Anderson, Charles Howard Candler Professor and Chair of African-American Studies, spoke on voter disenfranchisement at a Juneteenth gala in Dalton, Georgia. The Dalton Daily Citizen covered Anderson’s speech, which was organized by the Dalton-Whitfield NAACP. Anderson is the author of multiple influential books on racial inequality and politics in the U.S., including White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide (Bloomsbury, 2016) and One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy (Bloomsbury, 2018). Read an excerpt from the Dalton Daily Citizen’s coverage below along with the full article here: “Emory professor sounds alarm on voter disenfranchisement.”
“The thing about a lie is, if you say it enough and convincingly, it becomes the truth,” said Anderson, Charles Howard Candler professor and chair of African American Studies at Emory University. “We’re in a war for American democracy right now, and the only way it’ll be won is by fighting for democracy.”
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.“
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.
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.”
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:
- “Antisemitism monitor lands in Saudi Arabia on first official trip” (Washington Post)
- “U.S. envoy discusses hostility towards Jews with Saudi officials” (Reuters)
- “Saudi Arabia open to interfaith dialogue to combat religious intolerance, says US Special envoy to combat and monitor antisemitism” (Arab News)
- “Antisemitism monitor lands in Saudi Arabia on first official trip” (Religion News Service)
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.”
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).
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.”
Federal Civil Rights Cold Case Review Board Faces Time Crunch
In February of this year the U.S. Congress confirmed Professor Hank Klibanoff to the Federal Civil Rights Cold Case Review Board. The board has been charged with processing records of racially-motivated crimes from 1940-’79 that remain unsolved. A recent article from the Courthouse News Service provides an overview of the board’s work and discusses the time crunch the four-member team is under. As the 2019 law that sanctioned the establishment of the board was written, the work must be completed within four years. Klibanoff and other board members have yet to be sworn in, however, a delay that will pose serious challenges for the commission’s efforts. Klibanoff is James M. Cox Jr. Professor of Journalism and Associated Faculty in the History Department. Read more via this article: “Newly formed board to review Civil Rights-era cold cases faces time crunch.“