History is not written in stone. The way we view our history and its stories evolves alongside the evolution of our culture and values. Our legacies are shaped by our historians, teachers and students with each new generation.
Recently, following weeks of a global pandemic that highlighted racial disparities in health and wealth in America, and following the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent rising movements calling for racial justice, University of Missouri students went to administration with a request to remove from the quad a statue of founding father Thomas Jefferson, an author of the Declaration of Independence and a slaveholder.
That request has been denied by adminsatrators with the statement: “We don’t remove history.”
Today we explore that Missouri history and race.
Our guests:
Keona Ervin, MU professor of history, affiliate faculty with MU's Black Studies and author.
Walter Johnson, Harvard professor of African and African-American studies and author.
Sowande' Mustakeem, Washington University professor of history and African-American studies and author.
Ayanna Poole, founding member of Concerned Student 1950.
Payton Head, founding member of Concerned Student 1950.
To hear the live show, tune in Thursdays at noon. Also, you can leave us a voicemail on our listening line at 877-532-0971. Tell us about how you are handling the current crises our region is facing and any questions you have.
