It is with mixed feelings that I share the publication of my first peer reviewed article on Miami. Marjorie Wood, the oldest interviewee, passed away today. She was 96 years old when I interviewed her with start up funds from the University of Alabama in December 2013. “Aunt Marge” descends from Bahamians who helped settle… Continue reading First work on Miami published with mixed feelings
Still thinking about the idea of happiness, topic of last week’s conversation in my “Gender, Race and Urban Space” graduate course. I’ll tell you what…happiness is when you hear from three former students in one day. Two headed to grad school. One needing a letter of recommendation. One just wanting to talk about whether grad… Continue reading on happiness…and trying to figure it out
In September 1865, a few months after the Civil War ended, Elvira Townsend, a woman of African descent, wrote her former master’s lawyer to say, “It is necessary that I should know the condition of our affairs…The new state of affairs gives us the power to enforce remedies and we shall do it…we can obtain… Continue reading “…new state of affairs”
Today I got a sneak peek at “Freedom? Selections from the Paul R. Jones Collection,” an exhibit curated by several University of Alabama faculty members. It opens Monday and will be up through April 28. The image above is among the art work on display. To see a sample of other work, check out the clip… Continue reading freedom?
This week, the graduate students enrolled in my “Gender, Race and Urban Space” course tackle Sara Ahmed’s study on “the promise of happiness.” I wasn’t always sure it was the best book for this course. But as I picked it up again in preparation for Thursday’s conversation, I continue to look forward to the topic.… Continue reading happy?
I was traveling for most of yesterday and just learned jazz critic Nat Hentoff died. He was 91. What a man. Some of his writings are on reserve for my “Bebop to Hip Hop: Young America and Music” class. I first met Nat while I was promoting my second book, a biography on Grant Green,… Continue reading a Nat Hentoff memory
I am soon headed back to Alabama. The annual American Historical Association meeting here in Denver has been very encouraging. I got to attended several panels including two of the three focusing on sport history (yes, I now know that sport historians use the word “sport” in a singular way). I was especially encouraged after… Continue reading headed home from AHA encouraged
I am in Denver at the American Historical Association’s annual meeting. Yesterday I was saddened to learn about the shooting in Ft. Lauderdale’s airport, a place through which I walked only eleven days ago to claim my luggage. That this incident took place in my home state hit home. I immediately wondered if people I… Continue reading SportsCenter spotlights race and sports at the University of Alabama
I just got off the phone with Charles Ferrell, Director of Public Programs, at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, a Smithsonian affiliate, in Detroit. I’m so excited about sharing that the documentary will be shown there on June 6, Grant’s birthday. It’s also an honor to share that there will be… Continue reading green things
My interest in space, race and power carries over into my ongoing interest in the life of the late jazz guitarist Grant Green as revealed in a documentary on his life. The project, which I have been working on since 1994, premiered last September at the 11th annual Harlem International Film Festival. In the coming… Continue reading making “space” in the year ahead
catalogue 