Gerald Horne
Encyclopedia
Gerald Horne is an African American
historian who currently holds the John J. and Rebecca Moores Chair of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston
. He received his PhD from Columbia University
and a J.D. from the University of California
, Berkeley. He is a frequent contributor to Political Affairs magazine.
, Ferdinand Smith (Jamaican-born communist, sailor, labor leader), the perplexing Lawrence Dennis
, an African-American fascist and racist who passed for white, and the feminist, anti-colonialist, internationalist intellectual Shirley Graham DuBois whose own career was overshadowed by that of her famous husband. While many of Horne's books use a celebrated, intriguing or politically engaged individual as a prism to inspect the historical forces of their times, Horne has also produced broad canvas chronicles of infrequently examined periods and aspects of the history of white supremacy and imperialism such as the post-civil war involvement of the US ruling class—newly dispossessed of human chattels—with slavery in Brazil
, which was not legally abolished until 1888, or the attempts by Japanese imperialists in the mid-20th century to appear as the leaders of a global war against white supremacy, thus allies and instruments of liberation for people of color oppressed by Anglo-American Empire.
Manning Marable
has said: "Gerald Horne is one of the most gifted and insightful historians on racial matters of his generation."
at the conference on Black Women and the Radical Tradition (held at Brooklyn College Graduate Center for Worker Education), Horne said:
In a speech given at an event marking the depositing of the Communist Party USA archives at the Tamiment Library at New York University, Horne remarked at length on the writing of history, its importance, and the grievous proliferation of propagandistic historiography in the US:
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
historian who currently holds the John J. and Rebecca Moores Chair of History and African American Studies at the University of Houston
University of Houston
The University of Houston is a state research university, and is the flagship institution of the University of Houston System. Founded in 1927, it is Texas's third-largest university with nearly 40,000 students. Its campus spans 667 acres in southeast Houston, and was known as University of...
. He received his PhD from Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
and a J.D. from the University of California
University of California
The University of California is a public university system in the U.S. state of California. Under the California Master Plan for Higher Education, the University of California is a part of the state's three-tier public higher education system, which also includes the California State University...
, Berkeley. He is a frequent contributor to Political Affairs magazine.
Work
A prolific author, Horne has published on W. E. B. Dubois and has written books on a wide range of neglected but by no means marginal or minor episodes of world history. He specialises in illuminating previously obscure or misrepresented struggles of humanity for social justice, in particular communist struggles and struggles against imperialism, colonialism, fascism and racism. Individuals whose lives his work has highlighted in their historical contexts have included the blacklisted Hollywood screenwriter John Howard LawsonJohn Howard Lawson
John Howard Lawson was an American writer. He was head of the Hollywood division of the Communist Party USA. He was also the cell's cultural manager, and answered directly to V.J. Jerome, the Party's New York-based cultural chief...
, Ferdinand Smith (Jamaican-born communist, sailor, labor leader), the perplexing Lawrence Dennis
Lawrence Dennis
Lawrence Dennis was an mixed raced American diplomat, consultant and author. He advocated Socialist fascism in America after the Great Depression, arguing that capitalism was doomed.-Life:...
, an African-American fascist and racist who passed for white, and the feminist, anti-colonialist, internationalist intellectual Shirley Graham DuBois whose own career was overshadowed by that of her famous husband. While many of Horne's books use a celebrated, intriguing or politically engaged individual as a prism to inspect the historical forces of their times, Horne has also produced broad canvas chronicles of infrequently examined periods and aspects of the history of white supremacy and imperialism such as the post-civil war involvement of the US ruling class—newly dispossessed of human chattels—with slavery in Brazil
Slavery in Brazil
Slavery in Brazil shaped the country's social structure and ethnic landscape. During the colonial epoch and for over six decades after the 1822 independence, slavery was a mainstay of the Brazilian economy, especially in mining, cotton, and sugar cane production.Brazil obtained an estimated 35% of...
, which was not legally abolished until 1888, or the attempts by Japanese imperialists in the mid-20th century to appear as the leaders of a global war against white supremacy, thus allies and instruments of liberation for people of color oppressed by Anglo-American Empire.
Manning Marable
Manning Marable
William Manning Marable was an American professor of public affairs, history and African-American Studies at Columbia University. Marable founded and directed the Institute for Research in African-American Studies. Marable authored several texts and was active in progressive political causes...
has said: "Gerald Horne is one of the most gifted and insightful historians on racial matters of his generation."
Historiography in and for the radical tradition
Gerald Horne is an uncomprisingly committed Marxist with an accessible writing style, a gift for clarity in his lectures and a dry wit. At the afternoon devoted to Shirley Graham Du BoisShirley Graham Du Bois
Shirley Graham Du Bois was an American-born author, playwright, composer, and activist for African-American and other causes, as well as spouse of noted African-American thinker, writer, and activist W. E. B...
at the conference on Black Women and the Radical Tradition (held at Brooklyn College Graduate Center for Worker Education), Horne said:
In a speech given at an event marking the depositing of the Communist Party USA archives at the Tamiment Library at New York University, Horne remarked at length on the writing of history, its importance, and the grievous proliferation of propagandistic historiography in the US:
External links
Recorded speeches and interviews- On The Global Civil Rights Struggle at the conference, The Long Civil Rights Movement: Histories, Politics, Memories, given by the Southern Oral History Program, April 2–4, 2009 (Video)
- On Shirley Graham Dubois at the Graduate Center for Worker Education at Brooklyn College (Video)
- On the Redscare and the Hollywood Blacklist on NPR