We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague and remain committed to the work he began.
After leaving high school, most Americans never take another course in U.S. history, but they are interested to learn more – just not in school! Many turn to our public history – our monuments, museums, and historical markers; the historical names we give to public places, buildings, and streets; the people we celebrate by naming mountains, …
James W. Loewen Loewen is proudest of his contributions to American society in five areas: his children, who he thinks are forces for good; his physical impact on the landscape, mostly in the form of housing he built and trees he planted; his writings; his direct efforts at social change; and his deployment of money …
Telling the Truth about the Past “Once you learn something terrible about our past, you can’t unlearn it. And if it’s important, not telling others, not teaching it, makes you complicit with the act itself. There’s no innocence — only honesty.” – James Loewen In K-12 Schools Across the nation, when asked “What’s your favorite …
Before the publication of Sundown Towns, the idea that many towns barred African Americans (and sometimes other groups) was not widely known. The notion was treated to some degree in books by four nonfiction authors: Frank Quillen, Ray Stannard Baker, Jacque Voegeli, and Emma Lou Thornbrough, cited in Sundown Towns. In addition, an unpublished work, Black Hillbillies of …
You cannot underestimate the American tourist. Well, no, that’s not fair; many tourists know a lot of history and ask very intelligent questions. Still, this box shows the result of Loewen’s asking various NPS rangers and managers “What are the silliest questions you get asked, more than once?” You’ll enjoy them! Also, you might imagine …
Silly Queries Asked at Historic Sites and National Parks Read More »
Essay 5: Confederate Public History Recognizing that inaccurate history often subtly promotes continuing white supremacy, the National Education Association (NEA) commissioned these articles and has posted some of them in slightly different form at its website. I thank Harry Lawson and others at NEA for the commission, for editorial suggestions, and for other assistance. Across the …
Essay 3: How to Teach Secession Recognizing that inaccurate history often subtly promotes continuing white supremacy, the National Education Association (NEA) commissioned these articles and has posted some of them in slightly different form at its website. I thank Harry Lawson and others at NEA for the commission, for editorial suggestions, and for other assistance. Since …
Introducing the Series:Historical Inaccuracies Are Barriers to Racial Justice Recognizing that inaccurate history often subtly promotes continuing white supremacy, the National Education Association (NEA) commissioned these articles and has posted some of them in slightly different form at its website. I thank Harry Lawson and others at NEA for the commission, for editorial suggestions, and for …
While I attended Carleton College (1960-64), I gradually became a citizen: someone interested not just in residing in a country but helping to define and improve it. My winter term, 1963, in Mississippi during the Civil Rights Movement played a key role. Trying to End the Vietnam War During my years at Harvard, 1964-68, our …
Banquet Address, Mississippi Historical Society February, 2007 In February, 2007, the Mississippi Historical Society invited me to be their annual banquet speaker. To me this was significant, because the society had played no role in 1974, when the State Textbook Board had rejected our book, Mississippi: Conflict and Change. As a result, for an entire …