Mark R. Cheathem Bethanie Tucker, Classism, Racism, Slavery

Confronting Classism and Racism in Contemporary America: Two Recent Examples

Two conversations have taken place in the past 24 hours that reveal two different approaches to class and race in the United States. The first was Bethanie H. Tucker's talk at the Wisconsin Technical College System Conference. Granted, I am relying on Sara Goldrick-Rab's Storified timeline, which captures her tweets about the talk, but the sentiment of Tucker's … Continue reading Confronting Classism and Racism in Contemporary America: Two Recent Examples

Mark R. Cheathem Ku Klux Klan, Racism

Marketing the KKK to Children

Andrew Pendergraft is the grandson of Thomas Robb, the modern-day Ku Klux Klan's national director. As a young boy with floppy blond hair and a slight speech impediment, Pendergraft hosted a number of short episodes of his very own amateur talk show, "The Andrew Show," which presents the Klan's ideology in a format aimed at … Continue reading Marketing the KKK to Children

Mark R. Cheathem Cherokee Indians, Civil War, Jim Crow, Ku Klux Klan, Paul Hutchens, Racism, Sugar Creek Gang

My Journey to Studying History

I am teaching our department's historical methods course this semester. One of the questions that I asked the students was why they chose to study history. Answers ranged from "I chose it by default" to "I've always loved reading and writing, so history was a natural fit." I shared with them my reason for majoring in … Continue reading My Journey to Studying History

Mark R. Cheathem Censorship, Literature, Mark Twain, Racism, Randall Kennedy, Samuel Clemens, Slavery

Huck Finn and Censorship

If you've been paying attention, then you know that a censored edition of Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is being published. This proposed edition will eliminate the word "nigger," "Injun," and "half-breed," replacing them with "slave," "Indian," and "half-blood." These changes have produced much discussion in the blogosphere, including a thoughtful post by a former student of … Continue reading Huck Finn and Censorship