The Art of Remembering, Episode 2: Kathleen McElroy

The Sunday Long Read Podcast

Welcome back to The Art of Remembering, a Sunday Long Read podcast series on the fascinating world of obituaries. Our second guest, Kathleen McElroy, is currently a journalism professor at The University of Texas at Austin after spending nearly 30 years in the industry, including serving as Associate Managing Editor at The New York Times. Her 2013 article in the Journal of Black Studies focused particularly on obituaries, and the way they shape how civil rights leaders—and the entire movement—are remembered (or misremembered).

• McElroy's study, "You Must Remember This: Obituaries and the Civil Rights Movement"
• 2005: Rosa Parks, 92, Founding Symbol of Civil Rights Movement, Dies
• 2020: John Lewis, Towering Figure of Civil Rights Era, Dies at 80

The Art of Remembering is sponsored by our friends at Air Mail, the sophisticated digital weekly dispatch from Graydon Carter and Alessandra Stanley. SLR readers can get 40% off their first year subscription.