A book that Rhodes professor Dr. Charles McKinney co-edited with University of Memphis professor Dr. Aram Goudsouzian will be the topic of a weeklong online forum hosted by Black Perspectives, the award-winning blog of the African American Intellectual History Society.
An Unseen Light: Black Struggles for Freedom in Memphis, Tennessee will be featured Oct. 8-12. In the book, scholars examine Memphis’ role in African American history during the 20th century, covering topics including the relationship between the labor and civil rights movements, the fight for economic advancement in black communities, and the impact of music on the city’s culture.
McKinney, who is the Neville Frierson Bryan Chair of Africana Studies and an associate professor of history, teaches courses that focus on the African American experience in the United States, and his primary research interests include the Civil Rights Movement and local movements.
Dr. Charles Hughes, director of Rhodes’ Lynne & Henry Turley Memphis Center, and Rhodes history alumnus Dr. Anthony Siracusa, also will take part in the online forum. Siracusa writes about religion, race, and politics in the Black Freedom Movement, and Hughes teaches courses in Africana Studies, history, and urban studies.
Beginning Oct. 8 at 5:30 a.m. (EST), Black Perspectives will publish a new blog post each day of the forum.