Scholars on Watch: Dispatches from History for the Present

The Gilder Lehrman Center’s new blog, Scholars on Watch: Dispatches from History for the Present provides a civil and thoughtful online space in which scholars and engaged colleagues may write an occasional commentary drawing on the broad field of slavery, abolition, modern slavery, and their legacies.

The short essays we post are intended to bring the insights of history and other disciplines to bear on the immediate and long-term issues we face in our current political times, aiming toward broad, general audiences. As we grapple with the consequences of the recent election’s aftermath, the issues that concern us include extremist right wing forces entering the government as never before; the empowerment of white supremacist sentiment and action; and increasing challenges to evidence-based truths. We inaugurate the blog with two pieces, one by Carol Lasser of Oberlin College, and the other by John Pepper of the Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati.