Honoring Black Agency in an American Democracy: Martha S. Jones

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Historians “are an essential core, an essential thread of the world of ideas, of meaning, of insight and more. The question is how to make that manifest.”

So says Dr. Martha Jones, Society of Black Alumni Presidential Professor and Professor of History at Johns Hopkins University. In her conversation with Dr. Leandra Zarnow recorded on October 16, 2020, Dr. Jones discusses the obligation she feels to step into the public square, whether it is elevating the deep contribution of African American women to our democracy, challenging the whitewashing of a suffragist monument in Central park, or providing help to those in the throes of the birthright citizenship debate. Driven by an impatience and eagerness to make history accessible, Dr. Jones advocates for the opportunity and obligation of academics to broaden their audience through collaboration, working local, and taking the initiative through old and new media alike.

To learn more:
https://marthasjones.com/
Twitter @marthasjones_

The Center for Public History at the University of Houston. https://uh.edu/class/cph