Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class w/ Blair Kelley

2023-09-12

Often, when we think about racial justice immediately following the Civil War we think about a relatively narrow slice of Black history. Blair LM Kelley's Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class shines a light on stories that we don't hear enough about. Drawing on stories from her own family and extensive research Blair tells us a compelling tale of Black folk beginning to claim their place in America as free people. With stories of washerwomen, Pullman Porters, and other Black workers who f...

Often, when we think about racial justice immediately following the Civil War we think about a relatively narrow slice of Black history. Blair LM Kelley's Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class shines a light on stories that we don't hear enough about.

Drawing on stories from her own family and extensive research Blair tells us a compelling tale of Black folk beginning to claim their place in America as free people.

With stories of washerwomen, Pullman Porters, and other Black workers who fought for rights for themselves, started unions, and paved the way for the modern Civil Rights Movement Blair had me captivated from the start.

The richness of her book is reflected in the richness of the conversation that we had. Both educational and inspirational, this is a conversation you don't want to miss.

About Blair:

Blair LM Kelley, is an award winning author, historian and scholar of the African American experience. A dedicated public historian Kelley works to amplify the histories of black people, chronicling the everyday impact of their activism. Kelley is the Joel R. Williamson, Distinguished Professor of Southern Studies at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, and the incoming Director of the Center for the Study of the American South, the first black woman to serve in that role in the center's 30 year history. Kelly's newest book, Black Folk: The Roots of the Black Working Class, draws on family histories and mines the archive to illuminate the adversities and joys of the Black working class in America, both past and present.

For a written transcript of this conversation click here.

Action Items:

1) Buy and read Blair's book.

2) Spend time in "third spaces". Spaces outside of work and home where we can be in community and invest in one another.

3) Continue to learn about our past and advocate for broader education in our schools as well as in alternative and community learning spaces. Let this book be the beginning of a conversation that expands our knowledge and understanding of this important part of American history.

Stay in touch with Blair:

Instagram

Credits:

Harmonica music courtesy of a friend.

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