I'm a historian of the nineteenth century South who taught U. S. history at Texas State University, San Marcos, for almost 25 years. My research interests center on people who lived outside the law--not necessarily "outlaws" as we might imagine them, but outside the law nonetheless. The southern Civil War home front, including Unionists and other men and women who fought against the Confederacy, mixed race communities, and racial identity are my special interests.
Accomplishing what others could not with so little, this woman of courage and determination, too white to be black and too black to be white, stood up against the moonshiners who threatened […]
by Vikki Bynum Politics is a particularly nasty business these days at the state as well as national level. Take North Carolina, a state I dearly love. In recent years, the right-wing […]
By Vikki Bynum I just received my complimentary copies of Edizioni Piemme’s Italian edition of The Free State of Jones! It’s a beautiful production, translated by Sara Puggioni, and includes color photos […]
By Chuck Shoemake In the dark fens of the Dismal Swamp The hunted Negro lay; He saw the fire of the midnight camp, And heard at times a horse’s tramp […]
Some highlights from last month’s week in Mississippi, which began with my deliverance of the first-of-the-year University Forum address at Southern Miss. There are way too many photos of me below, but […]
The byline to “The Ladder by the Chimney” might be the proverb “every picture tells a story” considering the memories this drawing evoked for Chuck Shoemake! Not only did I […]
By Vikki Bynum During the American Civil War, many Southerners expressed hostility to the Confederacy, beginning with strong opposition to secession, evasion and desertion of military service, and, finally, armed insurrections. Nonslaveholding […]
Recent Comments