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by abritt

Anderson Comments on GA Senate and House Voting Legislation

Dr. Carol Anderson, Charles Howard Candler Professor of African American Studies and Associated Faculty in the History Department, was recently quoted in an article in Atlanta Magazine. The piece focuses on the dozen bills currently alive in the Georgia state House and Senate that are focused on voting issues. Opponents critique this legislation as Republican efforts to curb voting rights in the wake of Democratic victories in the 2020 presidential election and for the state’s two senate seats in early 2021. Read an excerpt from the piece quoting Dr. Anderson below along with the full article: “Here’s what’s going on with voting legislation in Georgia and why opponents say it’s clear ‘voter suppression.'”

“But Emory University professor Carol Anderson, author of One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy, says Republican lawmakers are going on a “bonanza” to deter alleged voter identity theft, despite no proof of voter fraud in recent elections. “They are targeting American citizens and denying them their right to vote,” she says. Anderson, an expert on the country’s history of voter suppression, says that the nature of the bills wasn’t surprising, but it was the sheer volume of bills introduced in Georgia during the current session that has garnered widespread attention, even as other states propose similar legislation.“

by abritt

Slave Voyages Launches Consortium

Slave Voyages, a preeminent resource for the study of slavery and a digital memorial, recently launched a cooperative consortium with six other institutions to ensure its sustainability. The consortium includes Emory, the Hutchins Center for African and African American Research at Harvard University, the National Museum of African American History and Culture, the Omohundro Institute of Early American History & Culture at William & Mary, Rice University, and three campuses at the University of California that will assume a joint membership: UC Santa Cruz, UC Irvine and UC Berkeley. Slave Voyages contains the records of tens of thousands of trans-Atlantic and inter-American slaving voyages, and users can submit new records as they are encountered.

The database grew out of the archival research of Dr. David Eltis, Robert W. Woodruff Professor Emeritus in the Emory History Department. Dr. Allen E. Tullos, Professor of History and Director of the Emory Center for Digital Scholarship, has worked on an extensive update and expansion of the project since 2018. He serves on the project’s steering committee, along with Emory History Department graduate alumni Dr. Alex Borucki (University of California, Irvine) and Dr. Daniel B. Domingues da Silva (Rice University). Read more about launch of the consortium through a quote from Eltis below along with articles in the Atlanta Journal Constitution and from the Emory News Center.

“‘The launch of the SlaveVoyages.org consortium is an innovation not just for scholars of slavery, but for all soft money digital humanities projects,’ says David Eltis, Robert W. Woodruff Professor Emeritus of History and co-director of the SlaveVoyages project. ‘At long last, this consortium opens up a route to sustainability.‘

by abritt

Klibanoff Discussues Arbery Case on Anniversary of His Death for WABE’s ‘A Closer Look’

Hank Klibanoff, James M. Cox Jr. Professor of Journalism and Associated Faculty in the History Department, was recently a featured guest on “A Closer Look,” a show produced by Atlanta’s NPR affiliate, WABE. Hosted by Rose Scott, the interview focuses on the investigation of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery one year ago this past February. Klibanoff, who directs Emory’s The Georgia Civil Rights Cold Cases Project, dedicated season three of his podcast, “Buried Truths,” to the Arbery case. Listen to the episode here: “Activist, Legal Analyst, Professor Discuss The Ahmaud Arbery Case One Year After His Death.”

by abritt

Anderson Honors Life and Legacy of Amelia Boynton in ‘The Guardian’

Dr. Carol Anderson, Charles Howard Candler Professor of African American Studies and Associated Faculty in the History Department, was recently quoted in an article honoring the life and legacy of Amelia Boynton. Published in The Guardian, the piece provides an overview of the work of the influential Selma-based civil rights activist, who was instrumental in the grassroots organizing that led to Voting Rights Act of 1965. Read an excerpt from the article quoting Anderson below along with the full piece: “Fight to vote: the woman who was key in ‘getting us the Voting Rights Act.‘”

“‘She got us the Voting Rights Act,’ said Carol Anderson, a historian at Emory University.

“‘It’s one of the ‘failings,’ and I’ll put that in quotes, of the writings of the civil rights movement, is that women who are key in organizing are written out,’ she added. ‘The grassroots work of Mrs Boynton just didn’t get the kind of respect and honor that it deserved.'”

by abritt

Goldstein Moderates Conversation on Antisemitism at Emory Dental School

Dr. Eric L. Goldstein, Associate Professor of History and Judith London Evans Director of the Tam Institute for Jewish Studies, recently moderated a conversation about antisemitism at the Emory University Dental School. The talk featured Dr. Perry Brickman, author of the 2019 book Extracted: Unmasking Rampant Antisemitism in America’s Higher Education (Morgan James Publishing). Dr. Deborah E. Lipstadt, Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies and associated faculty in the History Department, wrote the forward for Extracted. Atlanta’s Breman Museum hosted the event as a part of their Atlanta Jewish History Talks winter series. Read more about the conversation here.

by abritt

Lipstadt Offers Tribute to George Shultz for Work Supporting Emigration of Soviet Jews

Dr. Deborah E. Lipstadt, Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies and associated faculty in the History Department, was recently quoted in a Jewish Telegraphic Agency article. The piece, “In extraordinary tribute, George Shultz hailed by Jewish leaders for helping free Soviet Jews,” praises the efforts of former U.S. secretary of state George Shultz (1982-89) to enable emigration of Soviet Jews from the USSR. Shultz died earlier this month at the age of 100. Read an excerpt quoting Lipstadt below, along with the full article.

“Deborah Lipstadt, professor of Holocaust studies at Atlanta’s Emory University, recalled an interview that Shultz gave the Los Angeles Times shortly after his term as secretary of state had ended. Asked to name the most memorable moment of his time in office, he said it was when he received a phone call from refusenik Ida Nudel announcing she was finally ‘home in Israel.‘

“That he told the press this was the highlight of his tenure gives you not only a measure of the man, but also a measure of how important this issue was for him,’ Lipstadt said. ‘We are privileged to have been touched by him.‘”

by abritt

Klibanoff Comments on Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act

Hank Klibanoff, James M. Cox Jr. Professor of Journalism and Associated Faculty in the History Department, recently commented on the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act for the Courthouse News Service. Conceived of by New Jersey high school students and signed into law in 2019, the Cold Case legislation directs the National Archives and Record Administration to compile documents related to unsolved cases of the civil rights era. A five-member board designated to review those documents has yet to be appointed. In the article Klibanoff discusses the significance of the legislation, which he sees as opening up productive avenues for solving cold cases and achieving justice for victims and their families. Read an excerpt from the piece below along with the full article: “Empty Board Hampers Effort to Release Records on Civil Rights-Era Killings.”

“Hank Klibanoff, director of the Georgia Civil Rights Cold Cases Project at Atlanta’s Emory University, said the law will help researchers dig into old documents on these killings ‘without having to jump through three, four, five hoops.‘

“It’s a process Klibanoff knows well: He had to file two different requests, one to the FBI and another to the National Archives, to get information about the killing of Isaiah Nixon, a Black man shot in 1948 for voting in Georgia.

“Klibanoff said the law drafted by the students – known formally as the Civil Rights Cold Case Records Collection Act of 2018 – could make more of a difference than when the federal government tried to reopen a bunch of the cases a few years ago in the hopes of closing them. In many instances, the government closed the cases when they concluded there was no one left alive to prosecute. 

“‘This, you don’t have to have a living perpetrator,’ Klibanoff said. ‘This allows the perpetrators – even if they are deceased – to still face the judgement of history. This allows historians, or families and newspaper reporters, to come in, look at them and write stories about what the record shows happened.‘”

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Lipstadt in ‘The Guardian’: “Jews fear what follows after Republicans applauded Marjorie Taylor Greene”

Dr. Deborah E. Lipstadt, Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies and associated faculty in the History Department, recently published an article in The Guardian. Titled “Jews fear what follows after Republicans applauded Marjorie Taylor Greene,” the piece analyzes responses to anti-Semitic comments made by Republican congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. Lipstadt is a leading public intellectual and key voice on Jewish history, the Holocaust, and Holocaust Denial. Read an excerpt from The Guardian piece below along with the full article here.

“Some people were shocked by Taylor’s comments. I was not. Having spent decades studying, teaching, researching and fighting antisemitism, Greene’s claims were familiar territory. All of them – space lasers, 9/11, school shootings, Trump’s election loss and so much else – shared a common theme: conspiracy. […]

“Antisemitism is a prejudice, akin to so many others. Just like racism and an array of other hatreds, it relies on stereotypes and assumes that all members of the group share those characteristics. Antisemitism has unique characteristics that differentiate it from other hatreds. The racist “punches down” and loathes persons of colour because they are apparently “lesser than” the white person. They are, the racist proclaims, not as smart, industrious, qualified or worthy. In contrast, the antisemite “punches up”. The Jew is supposedly more powerful, ingenious and financially adept than the non-Jew. Jews use their prodigious skills to advance themselves and harm others. The Jew is not just to be loathed. The Jew is to be feared.”

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Yaza Sarieh (‘18Ox, ‘20C) Wins 2020-21 Henry Luce Foundation Fellowship

Congratulations to recently graduated History major Yaza Sarieh (‘18Ox ‘20C) on receiving the Henry Luce Foundation Fellowship for 2021-2022. Yaza was also the recipient of the History Department’s Matthew A. Carter Award, given annually to a graduating student who exemplifies high academic achievement and good works in the community. Sarieh is one of only a dozen Emory students to win this prestigious fellowship in the university’s history. Read the Luce Foundation’s profile of Sarieh below, along with the same from the Emory News Center: “Two recent Emory graduates selected for prestigious Luce Scholars Program.” Also, learn about the other Luce fellowship winners from this past year here.

“Yazmina Sarieh graduated from Emory University in May 2020 with a Bachelor’s degree in History and Arabic. Born and raised in a small immigrant community outside of Nashville, Tennessee, Yazmina has always had a passion for service, social justice and diversity. At Emory, she co-directed Behind the Glass, an organization connecting students with undocumented detainees who were being held in a nearby detention center. She led initiatives at Georgia Organics, a food justice organization, managing a project that mapped demographics, health disparities and nutritional assets in order to alleviate food insecurity among schoolchildren. She has volunteered with the International Rescue Committee to support the integration of newly arrived refugees from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Democratic Republic of Congo and Honduras. While interning at the Carter Center, she worked on large-scale conflict resolution with international actors regarding the Syrian Civil War, specifically advocating for the rights of internally displaced populations. As a Gilman Scholar at al-Akhawayn University in Ifrane, Morocco and the Sultan Qaboos University in Manah, Oman, Yazmina connected with people around the globe, engaging in cross cultural dialogue and integrating into diverse communities. She was named a Phi Beta Kappa scholar upon graduation, and received the Matthew A. Carter Citizens Award from the Emory History Department, given to one student who best exemplifies academic achievement and good works in the community. Yazmina is motivated to work in migrant rights and advocacy, hoping to create more efficient policy, programming and infrastructure that will enhance economic growth, social inclusion and political stability among marginalized communities. During her free time, Yazmina loves to preserve her Palestinian heritage through embroidery, reading ethnographies and caring for her plants.“

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Strocchia’s ‘Forgotten Healers’ Awarded Gordan Prize for Best Book in Renaissance Studies

Congratulations to Dr. Sharon Strocchia, Professor of History, whose book Forgotten Healers: Women and the Pursuit of Health in Late Renaissance Italy (Harvard UP, 2020) was awarded the 2021 Phyllis Goodhart Gordan Book Prize. The prize is given annually by the Renaissance Society of America to the best book in Renaissance studies. Forgotten Healers was also awarded the Marraro Prize by the Society for Italian Historical Studies. Browse past winners of the Phyllis Goodhart Gordan Book Prize, along with other awards given by the Renaissance Society of America, here.