Black Intellectuals

I constructed the above bulletin in the room that I teach in; I wanted to present to my students a list of works and authors that they might or might not know. This is clearly not an exhausted list. And, it represents authors often ignored by teachers. Black scholars have a very important case to [...]

Writing and Presentation Projects

I have been doing some work towards completing two journal articles this summer; one looks at the historical impact of rap music and the socioeconomic conditions that shaped race relations during the 1980s; much of this piece looks at the pedagogical significance of teaching the 80s via music and pop culture in the U.S. history [...]

Good Luck Phil Sinitiere

Today is a big day for my friend and colleague Phil Sinitiere; he will be defending his doctoral dissertation at the University of Houston; Phil’s research interest centers around race and religion. Phil and I are working on a book that looks at WEB Du Bois’s writings and artistic depictions and placing them in a [...]

The Talented Tenth

It has long been one of my life goals to join the ranks of the Talented Tenth. I hope to do this by making contributions to the thinking of my community and by advancing the thought processes of my students; it is important that they not conform to rules of textbooks and tradition, but to [...]

Thoughts on Ed Blum, W.E. B. Dubois, Toni Morrison, Race, Sex, and Black Literature

I recall reading Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye for the first time in high school; in it, Morrison took on similar issues as W.E.B Du Bois did in The Quest for the Silver Fleece. Ed Blum addressed Du Bois’s character Zora, whose interest in the white Madonna’s whiteness and purity created some comparison to three [...]

Do You Believe in Black Jesus?

In chapter 4 of Edward Blum’s W.E.B. Du Bois, American Prophet, Blum discusses the Gospel according to Mary Brown and her child Joshua, who represents one of Du Bois’s black biblical characters, who found comfort among those who were societal outcasts. He, who was [the black] Jesus Christ, marched with the poor, with sinners, and communists; [...]

W.E.B. Du Bois Workshop and Lecture

My friend and colleague  Phil Sinitiere at the Second Baptist School posted this piece on the Race, Religion, and W.E.B. Du Bois workshop we are conducting at Houston Christian. Edward Blum will be traveling in from San Diego State University to participate in the workshop and deliver a lecture. Read more below. (Phil’s blog)

In collaboration with Ed [...]

MLK Jr. Day

The role of Martin Luther Kingduring the 1960’s Civil Rights movement is still under debate amongst some. He was the most widely recognized of the civil rights leaders, many of them ministers in black evangelical churches who in the late fifties had organized themselves into the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). His promotion of the [...]

W.E.B. Du Bois’s “Black Reconstruction in America”

The following piece was published in the December ‘07 issue of Internationl Socialist Review and reviewed by Keeanga-Yamahtt Taylor.

American Historical Association Meeting: Final Thoughts

Phil and I arrived in Houston from Washington D.C. late yesterday afternoon; I stayed up late typing a few notes and doing some reading in preparation for my classes today. As for the conference sessions and papers, I enjoyed all of them. The opportunity to meet various scholars and hear about their research and teaching [...]

What Would Du Bois Say?: A Response to Hitchens and Dawkins by Edward Blum

I am writing a comparative essay reviewing both Edward Blum’s religious work on W.E.B. Du Bois and that of David Lewis. This paper, in the end, will be more than just a comparative review, but an analysis of two great authors. I will share more on this later. Below is an essay that Blum published as a [...]

The Black Bourgeoisie

E. Franklin Frazier’s Black Bourgeoisie was more prophetic than many realized. Frazier, who addressed the burgeoning black middle class, expressed concern about the intra class conflict vis-a-vis socioeconomic status of black folks. Frazier notes that the black middle class was in a rush by the 1960s to assimilate. During the Harlem Renaissance, even W.E.B. Du Bois “strategically [...]

W.E.B. DuBois on Josef Stalin

I am in the middle of Blum’s DuBois: American Prophet. I hope to write an extended analysis and review once I am done. While reading some this morning, Blum reminded me of a document DuBois wrote entitled On Stalin. In this eulogy drafted shortly after Stalin’s death, DuBois praises a man that brought faith, confidence [...]

It has Arrived: Edward Blum’s Book on Du Bois

Below I reposted a previous blog piece addressing Dr. Edward Blum’s recently published book on W.E.B. Du Bois and his religious journey and ideological construction. I ordered a copy of this book from the University of Pennsylvania Press months ago and just got it in the mail yesterday. I am going to push it to [...]

Thinking about Summer

Teacherwoman has been asking me about my summer plans now for a few weeks; I will say that this summer will be far more relaxing than last. For those of you who have a desire to become an educator, the package deal is pretty good. Advice: Teach at a school with high SAT scores (it [...]

Dr. Blum’s Recent Work on DuBois

For those of you at independent schools and colleges and universities that I have met and worked with over the years, you know what a fan I am of the late W.E.B. DuBois. I recently wrote here about my hopes of taking a sabbatical to retrace DuBois’ German experience. Beyond my desire to focus on [...]

Thinking Sabbaticle, Independent Schools, and Research

Because of a few academic projects I am working on, as well as a busy professional travel schedule that has allowed me to visit a few elite independent schools and colleges around the country, I have been fortunate to meet a number of intelligent and passionate academics who possess the same goals as I do. [...]

On W.E.B. DuBois

I have read W.E.B. DuBois’ Souls of Black Folks some 10 – 12 times since my junior year of high school; it is a work that has taken on biblical proportions for me intellectually. One of the reasons I teach his modern intellectual thought in my class is due to his profound prophetic writings. A [...]