was used for many things, but one of the things was to keep abolitionist speech away from poor white people (which certainly could contribute to keeping it away from enslaved Black people).

She writes in her excellent book "Masterless Men: Poor Whites and Slavery in the Antebellum" about the carceral infrastructure that existed for poor white people (and of course was immediately turned upon Black people in the aftermath of the defeat of Reconstruction), and how that infrastructure

Of course there's no shortage of suppressed speech in this country, but one particular form that I learned about from @kerileighmerritt.bsky.social was just how much abolitionist speech was kept from poor white people in the antebellum South. In many ways they lived under a police state.

Just a reminder as WEB DuBois, Lillian Smith, @kerileighmerritt.bsky.social and countless others point out, you’re expendable. interminablerambling.medium.com/divide-and-c...

The lack of food has been "been live streamed into peoples living rooms for almost 2 years now" Tess Ingram from UNICEF on being told Israel has dismissed the IPC report declaring famine in Gaza City as a fabricated report to fit Hamas's fake campaign.

Completely finished (edited & turned in!) my new biography of Lillian Smith, the bestselling author, civil rights activist, & FIRST white Southerner to publicly call for integration. Will be out September 2026 from St. Martin’s Press. Excited to share her amazing story with the world.♥️

A Secret History of Pope Leo XIV and Villanova University #BookSky

Please check out my new book on Trump and stereotypes, published today. Also, this Weds at 6:30 my co-author Anastacia Kurylo and I will be at Barnes & Noble at the SmithHaven Mall talking about the book. www.amazon.com/Riling-Base-...

Thinking about her today too with the 80th anniversary of Hiroshima. interminablerambling.medium.com/wed-find-it-...

Thank you Rachel!! We are trying, despite the destruction of the NEH. Y’all can read more & help make the film a reality here: southerndocumentaryfund.networkforgood.com/projects/240...

Columbus, Georgia - hope to see you tomorrow!

If you haven't watched Hal Jacobs' documentary on Lillian Smith, you can now. Lonnie King called Smith "Jane the Baptist" because she came early. @filmmakerjulie.bsky.social @tylerhuckabee.bsky.social @kerileighmerritt.bsky.social @markhamillofficial.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9jU...

Netanyahu, the master of misdirection. During the 12 days that Israel and Iran were at war, more Palestinians were killed in Gaza, according to the health ministry there, than in that conflict. Deaths from disease, starvation and a lack of medicine are worsening the toll.

See @kerileighmerritt.bsky.social’s “Masterless Men”

'It's a Killing Field': IDF Soldiers Ordered to Shoot Deliberately at Unarmed Gazans Waiting for Humanitarian Aid www.haaretz.com/israel-news/...

I wrote some of my best pieces for Moyers & Co. & still remember how thrilled & honored I was to be working for HIM. The man was a giant - a forward-thinker, a champion of civil and human rights, just a downright kind soul. What an incredible legacy - what an incredible life.♥️

Folks may also enjoy this interview with @kerileighmerritt.bsky.social on the fall of the Confederacy, mass desertions, and beyond! itsgoingdown.org/collapsing-t...

The Coroner's Inquest records are part of the incredible Adlow Collection at @bpl.boston.gov. For Keri Leigh Merritt's comments on the evidential value of such materials, see her 2017 interview and read her terrific book, Masterless Men www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/poor...

💔💔💔

Looking for some new/old music? Check out Robert Fitzgerald’s “Hardcore Punk in the Age of Reagan.” @kerileighmerritt.bsky.social interminablerambling.medium.com/speaking-tru...

I’ve read (particularly from @kerileighmerritt.bsky.social) that the cognitive dissonance was such that many slave owners before the war were discussing extreme measures like legalizing slavery of more kinds of people or trying to re-start the Atlantic slave trade themselves

A long long time ago, in a far away galaxy... the US used to tax the rich

“The coming days & weeks could very well decide whether there will be Palestinian life in Gaza after the war in any meaningful sense. Ordinary Americans don’t control Israel’s government or the Trump admin, but they do retain the capacity to express moral outrage.” www.vox.com/world-politi...

Yes, please do! Dr Merritt @kerileighmerritt.bsky.social would appreciate you sharing it, too. It reveals an important truth about our past that the regime would rather stay buried. Thank you! vimeo.com/1040130366/7...

I'm researching conservative women and this came up from Oct, to lay to rest again any temptation to think Usha Vance needs "rescuing." She advises and supports her fascist fuck of a husband. Give these women the agency to be the fascist fucks they choose to be www.usatoday.com/story/news/p...

Dear Anna, Leah, and Ezra, here is the link to the Civil War historical project by historian Keri Leigh Merritt, Phd., that Musk and DOGE harpooned. As you will see, it reveals the Civil War was a class war fought by the poor to enrich the rich..like our fascist coup 2day vimeo.com/1040130366/7...

Also extremely important to note that her parents were actually detained under Biden and the child has been living in foster care for nearly a year. She “has lived in four foster homes while her parents were in immigration detention over the past year.” The cruelty crosses party lines.

Over 65,000 cases of acute malnutrition have been recorded among 1.1 million Palestinian children in Gaza, according to the Gaza Government Media Office. 🔴 LIVE updates: aje.io/idzjbg

Out now, but we were arrested today for praying in the US Capitol. t.co/E7c1YoPe2u

Horrified by this. Reverent Barber is the closest to MLK this movement has - he emanates goodness and loving kindness. His care for all of humanity is the biggest threat they face.

Every single day we wake up to atrocities, horror, pain, and suffering. Sending all y’all Iove, tenderness, empathy, and compassion.♥️♥️♥️ And if you’re able, please try to spread a little kindness to someone else who may need it today.

Agreed:)

Charles Kuck at Kuck Baxter in Atlanta has filed a temporary restraining order (TRO) for international students who have had their visas terminated. Anyone can email Kuck or Danielle Claffey to see about joining the lawsuit:  [email protected] [email protected]

Charles Kuck at Kuck Baxter in Atlanta has filed a temporary restraining order (TRO) for international students who have had their visas terminated. Anyone can email Kuck or Danielle Claffey to see about joining the lawsuit:  [email protected] [email protected]

ONE HUNDRED PERCENT “Biden’s slander of pro-Palestinian activists helped splinter the Democratic coalition during the 2024 election, giving Trump a potent wedge issue.” ONE HUNDRED PERCENT CORRECT Don’t like it? Complain to your mama www.thenation.com/article/soci...

Working on Lillian Smith and Laurel Falls Camp stuff. Love seeing these old images and promotional materials of the first private camp for girls in Georgia. @kerileighmerritt.bsky.social @bittersouth.bsky.social @basilmai.bsky.social @invisiblehistories.bsky.social @imaniperry.bsky.social

There it is, everything (single spaced!) except the last chapter and the introduction, which I am finishing over the next few days. This project has been an absolute beast but I *think* - I hope - I have done her justice. Out next year with St. Martin’s Press. #LillianSmith

At this moment, I am constantly reminded of Lillian Smith's words from 1956, “The critical moment is on us. Now is the time to deal with it.” @kerileighmerritt.bsky.social @americanstudier.bsky.social @profjeffries.bsky.social interminablerambling.medium.com/the-critical...

Lillian Smith writes, "We'd find it hard to have enemies if we cared about what happened to them." We can fight ideologies. We can fight fascists. And we must fight them. But, we must also confront how individuals fells for these ideologies. interminablerambling.medium.com/wed-find-it-...

Aww thank you so much!🥰 Sorry I’ve been quiet - am working very hard to finish my Lillian Smith bio for St. Martin’s Press. But this makes my day, I appreciate it!

San Juan, Puerto Rico. Kind of obsessed with all the art deco architecture here.

San Juan, Puerto Rico.

An auspicious start to the New Year. Wishing for peace, love, and understanding.♥️

Worthwhile read. "Four-fifths of all persistently poor counties in the nation are in the states of the former Confederacy. *** Whether measured in terms of development, health or happiness, the region is bad at everything good, and good at everything bad."

“What happens to excess workers when a capitalist system is predicated on slave labor?” This is another way of looking at what Greg Grandin writes about in The end of the Myth. An autonomous land, over the next ridge, across the prairie, is their "promised land", & the elite's safety valve. +