W. Ralph Eubanks
@wralpheubanks.bsky.social
A writer and essayist whose work focuses on race, identity, and the culture and literature of the American South. President, Authors Guild
Pinned
The Monday Media Diet with W. Ralph Eubanks
On Radiooo, Imani Perry’s Black in Blues, and Joseph Fasano
open.substack.com
On Radiooo, Imani Perry’s Black in Blues, and the poetry of Joseph Fasano.
open.substack.com/pub/whyisthi...
open.substack.com/pub/whyisthi...
Thank you @sallywienergrotta.bsky.social for the opportunity to talk about my forthcoming book “When It’s Darkness on the Delta,” which will be released January 13, 2026 from Beacon Press.
open.substack.com/pub/sallywie...
open.substack.com/pub/sallywie...
When It's Darkness on the Delta
Watch now | Author W. Ralph Eubank chats with Sally Wiener Grotta about his newest book When It’s Darkness on the Delta which is a combination family memoir and thoroughly researched history about the...
open.substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:10 AM
Thank you @sallywienergrotta.bsky.social for the opportunity to talk about my forthcoming book “When It’s Darkness on the Delta,” which will be released January 13, 2026 from Beacon Press.
open.substack.com/pub/sallywie...
open.substack.com/pub/sallywie...
Thanks @sallywienergrotta.bsky.social for a wonderful conversation.
Ralph Eubank chatted w. me about his new book “When It’s Darkness on the Delta” - a combination family memoir & thoroughly researched history of black experience in Mississippi & the traditions, laws, social attitudes and people who defined, shaped & now reshaping it
substack.com/home/post/p-...
substack.com/home/post/p-...
When It's Darkness on the Delta
Watch now | Author W. Ralph Eubank chats with Sally Wiener Grotta about his newest book When It’s Darkness on the Delta which is a combination family memoir and thoroughly researched history about the...
substack.com
November 17, 2025 at 3:03 AM
Thanks @sallywienergrotta.bsky.social for a wonderful conversation.
This conversation between Siddhartha Deb, Ralph Eubanks (me), C.J. Janovy, and Patrick Phillips with responses from Eliza Barclay and Jenny Casas took place back in January. Would be great to have the same conversation again next year.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...
Merchants of Fear: Stirring Hatred for Political Gain
Podcast Episode · Switchyard · 10/13/2025 · 58m
podcasts.apple.com
November 15, 2025 at 11:58 AM
This conversation between Siddhartha Deb, Ralph Eubanks (me), C.J. Janovy, and Patrick Phillips with responses from Eliza Barclay and Jenny Casas took place back in January. Would be great to have the same conversation again next year.
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/m...
Take a moment today away from Doomscrolling and engage with a poem by Robert Hayden. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
This Poem About Monet’s “Water Lilies” Reflects on the Powers and Limits of Art (Gift Article)
“Monet’s ‘Waterlilies,’” by Robert Hayden, reflects on what art can (and can’t) do in tumultuous times. Our critic A.O. Scott shows you why he loves it.
www.nytimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Take a moment today away from Doomscrolling and engage with a poem by Robert Hayden. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by W. Ralph Eubanks
I've said it elsewhere, but if you're a young organization in the South that meets the eligibility criteria for the new literary fund (budget over $50k) but has not yet gained 501(c)(3) status, @hubcitypress.bsky.social might be able to serve as your fiscal sponsor.
www.mellon.org/news/coaliti...
www.mellon.org/news/coaliti...
Coalition Launches Historic $50 Million Initiative to Bolster Nonprofit Literary Arts
New fund is dedicated to strengthening the field, advancing support for creative writers and ensuring their contributions to American literature for generations to come.
www.mellon.org
October 30, 2025 at 4:41 PM
I've said it elsewhere, but if you're a young organization in the South that meets the eligibility criteria for the new literary fund (budget over $50k) but has not yet gained 501(c)(3) status, @hubcitypress.bsky.social might be able to serve as your fiscal sponsor.
www.mellon.org/news/coaliti...
www.mellon.org/news/coaliti...
“If southern history is at once postscript and prelude, and always an archive of good, bad, and ugly, then I suppose I teach—like us all—in the midst of the past's still-unfolding story and vista.” muse.jhu.edu/pub/285/arti...
Project MUSE - On Teaching Southern History at the "Most Southern University on Earth"
muse.jhu.edu
October 30, 2025 at 2:03 PM
“If southern history is at once postscript and prelude, and always an archive of good, bad, and ugly, then I suppose I teach—like us all—in the midst of the past's still-unfolding story and vista.” muse.jhu.edu/pub/285/arti...
Vaccine Skepticism has gone too far. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/s...
Vaccine Skepticism Comes for Pet Owners, Too
www.nytimes.com
October 27, 2025 at 9:04 PM
Vaccine Skepticism has gone too far. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/s...
Reposted by W. Ralph Eubanks
For a Student Who Used AI to Write a Paper
October 25, 2025 at 8:05 PM
For a Student Who Used AI to Write a Paper
“The worst-case scenario would be us having to retrench a little, close some of the outlying clinics, but I hope it doesn’t come to that,” said John Fairman, the center’s chief executive. “We are the safety net here.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/h...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/h...
‘Medicaid Cut Me Off’: A Rural Health Center Faces New Pressures
www.nytimes.com
October 22, 2025 at 2:06 PM
“The worst-case scenario would be us having to retrench a little, close some of the outlying clinics, but I hope it doesn’t come to that,” said John Fairman, the center’s chief executive. “We are the safety net here.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/h...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/h...
“Ayers’ true legacy lies in what it reveals about power. From the beginning, plaintiffs insisted that equity required more than dollars, that without a voice in governance and autonomy over programs, any remedy would fall short. They were right.”
I have a new brief out today about the Ayers settlement in Mississippi.
Ayers was one of the longest running higher ed desegregation cases in history. When it was settled, MS Black colleges got $503 million over 17 years. But that's only half of the story. www.newamerica.org/education-po...
Ayers was one of the longest running higher ed desegregation cases in history. When it was settled, MS Black colleges got $503 million over 17 years. But that's only half of the story. www.newamerica.org/education-po...
A Rare Power: How Mississippi’s Higher Education Governing Board Stymied a Remedy for Segregation
What happens when equity remedies are delivered without structural reform? A look at a massive settlement at Mississippi Black colleges.
www.newamerica.org
October 22, 2025 at 1:30 PM
“Ayers’ true legacy lies in what it reveals about power. From the beginning, plaintiffs insisted that equity required more than dollars, that without a voice in governance and autonomy over programs, any remedy would fall short. They were right.”
“Working nights also presents its unique challenges—exhaustion, rowdy and drunk people, rude customers, long hours (and, of course, strange photographers)—yet they all have done it for years. And some wouldn’t have it any other way.”
The people who keep Chicago going from dusk till dawn. https://bit.ly/46WtRlQ
Night shift - Chicago Reader
The city doesn't go to sleep just because most of us do. Some people work nights, keeping the city going.
bit.ly
October 17, 2025 at 4:44 PM
“Working nights also presents its unique challenges—exhaustion, rowdy and drunk people, rude customers, long hours (and, of course, strange photographers)—yet they all have done it for years. And some wouldn’t have it any other way.”
I remember being at the Starbucks in Chevy Chase DC—Connecticut and Livingston—with my daughter when she heard a voice. “Is that Susan Stamberg I just heard?” She asked. She knew the voice, but not the face. Rest well.
www.npr.org/sections/the...
www.npr.org/sections/the...
In Pictures: Remembering Susan Stamberg, one of NPR's Founding Mothers
Susan Stamberg joined NPR at its start, originally to cut tape — literal tape, with a single-sided blade — at a time when commercial networks almost never hired women.
www.npr.org
October 17, 2025 at 2:49 AM
I remember being at the Starbucks in Chevy Chase DC—Connecticut and Livingston—with my daughter when she heard a voice. “Is that Susan Stamberg I just heard?” She asked. She knew the voice, but not the face. Rest well.
www.npr.org/sections/the...
www.npr.org/sections/the...
Reposted by W. Ralph Eubanks
White people’s insistence that other white people—especially the ones exhibiting morally questionable behavior—deserve the benefit of the doubt is going to kill us all.
October 15, 2025 at 12:51 PM
White people’s insistence that other white people—especially the ones exhibiting morally questionable behavior—deserve the benefit of the doubt is going to kill us all.
As this story notes, Greenville’s poverty rate is 32 percent. As the town has lost population, the city has been in decline. And while the violence is staggering , so is the poverty. And there is often a correlation between poverty and violence.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
In This Small Mississippi Delta City, Even Adults Race Home to Beat Curfew
www.nytimes.com
October 15, 2025 at 10:59 AM
As this story notes, Greenville’s poverty rate is 32 percent. As the town has lost population, the city has been in decline. And while the violence is staggering , so is the poverty. And there is often a correlation between poverty and violence.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/15/u...
On January 24, 2025, Switchyard gathered dozens of writers, radio producers, nonprofit leaders, educators, and thinkers at their headquarters in Tulsa to collectively imagine—and reckon with—what the next four years will be like. Proud to hve been a part of it.
www.switchyardmag.com/issue-5/demo...
www.switchyardmag.com/issue-5/demo...
Is This the End of Democracy? — Switchyard
By The Editors
www.switchyardmag.com
October 10, 2025 at 10:14 PM
On January 24, 2025, Switchyard gathered dozens of writers, radio producers, nonprofit leaders, educators, and thinkers at their headquarters in Tulsa to collectively imagine—and reckon with—what the next four years will be like. Proud to hve been a part of it.
www.switchyardmag.com/issue-5/demo...
www.switchyardmag.com/issue-5/demo...
My first event for "When It's Darkness on the Delta" will be on January 13, 2026, at Square Books in Oxford Mississippi. I'll be in conversation with Wright Thompson, author of "The Barn." Mark your calendars now.squarebooks.com/event/2026-01-…
https://now.squarebooks.com/event/2026-01-…
October 9, 2025 at 7:43 PM
My first event for "When It's Darkness on the Delta" will be on January 13, 2026, at Square Books in Oxford Mississippi. I'll be in conversation with Wright Thompson, author of "The Barn." Mark your calendars now.squarebooks.com/event/2026-01-…
I’ve refreshed the look of my website, making it much cleaner and easier to navigate. This is what can be accomplished when there is a professional doing the work (I did the old version). www.wralpheubanks.com
October 7, 2025 at 8:31 PM
I’ve refreshed the look of my website, making it much cleaner and easier to navigate. This is what can be accomplished when there is a professional doing the work (I did the old version). www.wralpheubanks.com
“So many restaurants are catering to the new D.C.; Georgia Brown’s spoke to the old D.C. — Chocolate City,” said the cultural scholar W. Ralph Eubanks, using the nickname that the funk musician George Clinton bestowed on Washington in 1975.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/d...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/d...
Is This the End of an Era for Soul Food in Washington?
www.nytimes.com
October 7, 2025 at 4:01 PM
“So many restaurants are catering to the new D.C.; Georgia Brown’s spoke to the old D.C. — Chocolate City,” said the cultural scholar W. Ralph Eubanks, using the nickname that the funk musician George Clinton bestowed on Washington in 1975.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/d...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/d...
“I think it’s quite a feat if you can write a story that gives humanity to all the people you put on the page.” Rattlebone was quite a feat, and Maxine Clair left a book in the world that readers will never forget. mcnallyeditions.substack.com/p/rememberin...
Remembering Maxine Clair
An essay by W. Ralph Eubanks on "Rattlebone," Clair's masterpiece.
mcnallyeditions.substack.com
September 27, 2025 at 12:53 PM
“I think it’s quite a feat if you can write a story that gives humanity to all the people you put on the page.” Rattlebone was quite a feat, and Maxine Clair left a book in the world that readers will never forget. mcnallyeditions.substack.com/p/rememberin...
Reposted by W. Ralph Eubanks
It’s COVER REVEAL Friday in the house for @wralpheubanks.bsky.social!
WHEN IT’S DARKNESS ON THE DELTA unearths the Mississippi Delta’s buried history, revealing a microcosm of economic oppression in the US and the seeds of transformation.
Watch this space in January 2026!
Cover design: Louis Roe
WHEN IT’S DARKNESS ON THE DELTA unearths the Mississippi Delta’s buried history, revealing a microcosm of economic oppression in the US and the seeds of transformation.
Watch this space in January 2026!
Cover design: Louis Roe
September 26, 2025 at 6:26 PM
It’s COVER REVEAL Friday in the house for @wralpheubanks.bsky.social!
WHEN IT’S DARKNESS ON THE DELTA unearths the Mississippi Delta’s buried history, revealing a microcosm of economic oppression in the US and the seeds of transformation.
Watch this space in January 2026!
Cover design: Louis Roe
WHEN IT’S DARKNESS ON THE DELTA unearths the Mississippi Delta’s buried history, revealing a microcosm of economic oppression in the US and the seeds of transformation.
Watch this space in January 2026!
Cover design: Louis Roe
A $35 Chicken Dinner in Mississippi? How New York Prices Went National. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/d...
A $35 Chicken Dinner in Mississippi? How New York Prices Went National.
www.nytimes.com
September 22, 2025 at 4:56 PM
A $35 Chicken Dinner in Mississippi? How New York Prices Went National. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/18/d...
“So much of White America has a one-dimensional idea of blackness . And she was trying to capture it in all its complexity.” www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2...
Quitting her job to write, Maxine Clair won acclaim for ‘Rattlebone’
Ms. Clair, who has died at 86, worked at a D.C. hospital before writing “Rattlebone,” a story collection about a Black community in the 1950s. Critics swooned.
www.washingtonpost.com
September 20, 2025 at 11:18 AM
“So much of White America has a one-dimensional idea of blackness . And she was trying to capture it in all its complexity.” www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2...
I was saddened to hear today of the death of the writer Maxine Clair. Her novel in stories “Rattlebone” is one that deserves to be brought out of the shadows and into the spotlight . thesewaneereview.com/articles/man...
thesewaneereview.com
September 19, 2025 at 2:34 AM
I was saddened to hear today of the death of the writer Maxine Clair. Her novel in stories “Rattlebone” is one that deserves to be brought out of the shadows and into the spotlight . thesewaneereview.com/articles/man...
Reposted by W. Ralph Eubanks
Feed: "South Side Weekly"
By: Delaney Eubanks on Wednesday, September 17, 2025
By: Delaney Eubanks on Wednesday, September 17, 2025
The Lost Neighborhood of Maxwell Street Market
Project Onward’s exhibition “Poor Man’s Paradise” is an homage to the historic open air market.
southsideweekly.com
September 18, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Feed: "South Side Weekly"
By: Delaney Eubanks on Wednesday, September 17, 2025
By: Delaney Eubanks on Wednesday, September 17, 2025
America can learn from the Germans. Hire alles ist nicht klargekommen.
“ABC and CBS are making a serious miscalculation. Their servility to Trump will not earn them peace, only greater pressure.”
That’s the German professional association of journalists, @djv.de, calling on major US media to support their journalists instead of preemptively silencing them.
That’s the German professional association of journalists, @djv.de, calling on major US media to support their journalists instead of preemptively silencing them.
Nicht vor MAGA-Kult einknicken
Der Deutsche Journalisten-Verband ruft die Verantwortlichen der großen US-Medien dazu auf, ihren Journalistinnen und Journalisten den Rücken zu stärken, statt…
www.djv.de
September 18, 2025 at 11:26 AM
America can learn from the Germans. Hire alles ist nicht klargekommen.