This week The Extraordinary Times caught up with David W. Blight, Sterling Professor of History and Director of the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University. In 2018, Simon and Schuster published his biography Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom, which won the Pulitzer Prize in History, the Gilder Lehrman Lincoln Prize, the Bancroft Prize for History, and the Francis Parkman Prize. Blight will give the 2023 John E. Dolibois History Prize Lecture, “Frederick Douglass: Prophet of Freedom,” at Miami University’s Hamilton Campus this Thursday, March 30 at 7 p.m. Free public event, Q&A and booksigning to follow.
* You describe Frederick Douglass as America's "Prophet of Freedom." How did his prophetic nature help him foresee the future? Douglass did not foresee the future. But in the tradition of the Judeo-Christian Hebrew prophets, whom he greatly admired and modelled, he was one of those rare people who could find the language, the voice, with which to capture the meaning of events, however traumatic or triumphal. He was a prophet in his use of words, his ability to explain the predicaments of his era. And he saw deeply into the story, the experience, the horror, and the human transcendence of slavery. * Why is Douglass such a resonant figure in American culture? Douglass is so important today because he gave us, better than anyone in the nineteenth century, an analysis and a story about race, America's most enduring issue. If one looks carefully at the dilemmas, the problems, the great issues he faced and endlessly analyzed in such remarkable prose, it is clear that most of those questions are still very much with us in our lives every day. * How might Douglass be remembered differently had he followed fellow abolitionist John Brown in the 1859 raid at Harper's Ferry? If Douglass had really joined John Brown and the attack on Harpers Ferry, he would have been captured and hanged by the state of Virginia. We would remember him only as the abolitionist who died on the gallows after Brown. * How do you characterize Douglass's changing relationship with Abraham Lincoln? Douglass and Lincoln started in very different places ideologically about slavery and its future. But they grew toward one another between late 1862 and the spring of 1865. That process of growth and change from being a fierce critic of Lincoln to a supporter and admirer in 1864 is one of the great stories in Douglass's life. * You taught High School in Flint, Michigan for several years before pursuing a career in academia. What lessons have you taken from the classrooms of Flint to the classrooms of Yale? I love this question. I learned how to teach in Flint. I learned how to fail and succeed in the classroom. I learned to take my students seriously but also not suffer fools. I learned then, and still discover it every day, that teaching is one part personality and one part knowledge. You must have both, but students will quickly know if you do not have the knowledge. My Yale students take their learning very seriously most of the time. At the high school level in an industrial working class city, I had to find some way every day to inspire my students. That is the best training experience for teaching one can have.
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This week The Extraordinary Times catches up with local writer and history enthusiast Cheri Brinkman. Cheri has lifelong connections to southwestern Ohio and northern Kentucky. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati and the University of California, she has previously taught at UC and Miami University. Since 2010, Cheri has written the Cincinnati and Soup book series, celebrating the food history of the Queen City. She has been a historical speaker in the region, a contributing presenter doing food presentations for Cincinnati and Dayton TV stations, and was involved with Ohio 4H for over twenty years, serving as a County Key Advisor and an Ohio State Fair Judge.
Cheri will be speaking this month, Tuesday, March 28 at 6pm at Miami University Middletown’s Verity Traditions series. Join Cheri as she explores “Hollywood on the Ohio,” showcasing the famous movie stars and showbusiness greats from our region. Free program, light dinner provided. More information and rsvp link at: www.miamioh.edu/regionals/rsvp Cheri notes that profits from the books and talks go to help underwrite CET public television, pet rescues like PAWS and League for Animal Welfare ,and Cancer Free Kids (pediatric cancer research). Cheri be reached at: [email protected] * Who, in your opinion, are the biggest stars from our region? There are a number of truly remarkable film stars and directors from southwestern Ohio and northern Kentucky. There are the obvious ones like Doris Day, Tyrone Power, and Roy Rogers but there are numerous others. Most people don't know that there are four Oscar winners from this area [editor’s note: how many can you name?!] and numerous Golden Globe awardees. * Who is an example of a lesser known local star deserving greater recognition, and why? As the program covers the silent film era to the present day, I think one of my favorites is Marguerite Clark who was a famous silent actress of the time. She was second in box office numbers only to Mary Pickford as an ingenue actress. She was the first Snow White on film. * Do you have a theory why this region is a hothouse for showbusiness talent? Southwestern Ohio and northern Kentucky are a center of the American Standard midwestern accent. This area also has the culture of the eastern states and the down to earth qualities of the true Midwest. I think that this provides a positive start to many of the local talents who have made it in show business. * In addition to showbusiness, you have a passion for food history. What makes Cincinnati stand out in this regard? The Cincinnati and Soup book series are a fun collection of four books—soon to be five books—of local recipes and stories. Some history some historical, all a positive reflection of who we are in Cincinnati. Cincinnati of course is unique with Cincinnati chili, goetta and mock turtle soup. The books also have a lot of "old school" recipes which are out of print or from local celebrities like Ruth Lyons, Bob Braun, Bonnie Lou, and department stores like Pogue's, Shillito's, etc. * Tell readers a little about your latest book! Currently Cincinnati and Soup: Modern Times is underway, and we are working towards publication this year. The recipes are ones we haven't had in previous books—excepting the Cincinnati chili, goetta, and mock turtle . People seem to like those in the books! |
AuthorMatthew Smith, PhD (History). Public Programs at Miami University Regionals. Historian of Appalachia, the Ohio Valley, & the early American republic. Archives
February 2024
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