Author: Patrick Young
National Archive Finds An Original Juneteenth Proclamation!
An original handwritten version of the June 19, 1865 Juneteenth proclamation appears to have been found in the National Archive on June 18, 2020. According…
NY Times Publishes Special Section on Juneteenth
The New York Times has a whole suite of materials today celebrating Juneteenth. One article is an interview with 93 year old Opal Lee, the…
Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America by W. Caleb McDaniel
Sweet Taste of Liberty: A True Story of Slavery and Restitution in America by W. Caleb McDaniel published by Oxford University Press (2019). Here is…
The Spread of “Juneteenth” in Reconstruction Era Texas
Juneteenth was not called “Juneteenth” the first time it was celebrated. It was called “Emancipation Day” or “Jubilee Day” in most early accounts. And while…
New Report Says 2,000 Blacks Lynched During Reconstruction Era
A new report from the Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) says that from the end of the Civil War in 1865 until the traditional close of…
Confederate Veteran William Simkins Describes His Role in the Ku Klux Klan
William Simkins was a professor of law at the University of Texas in Austin on Thanksgiving in 1914 when he decided to use his speech…
Tour of University of Texas Racial Geography, Emancipation, and The Lost Cause
The University of Texas now has a Racial Geography Tour of the famous campus in Austin. The tour can be explored in person or virtually…
Brooks Simpson Discusses “Grant” Miniseries
Historian Brooks Simpson is a pioneer in the reevaluation of the life and career of Ulysses S. Grant. His many readers know him as a…
“Gone With the Wind” Is a Confederate Monument Says Historian Nina Silber
Historian Nina Silber has an interesting article in today’s Washington Post titled ‘Gone With the Wind’ is also a Confederate monument, but on film instead…
In 1863 When a Black Man Refused to be Whipped Was He a Murderer if He Killed His Enslaver?
Here is an incident that I read about recently set during the early period of Reconstruction while the Civil War was still raging. I found…