jbessmor
@jbessmor.bsky.social
Ph.D., history of slavery & gendered violence. Moved here from the other place. Navigating finishing a book. In solidarity with other researchers who have lost funding. Dog person, obviously.
Reposted by jbessmor
For the first time in my career, I can’t tell people to trust what the CDC website says. And that is an incredibly sad and devastating place for this country to be.
CDC has overhauled its website to assert that “the claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim”
November 20, 2025 at 4:22 AM
For the first time in my career, I can’t tell people to trust what the CDC website says. And that is an incredibly sad and devastating place for this country to be.
Reposted by jbessmor
This was no secret. William Vassall explained to anyone who would listen that he spent an enormous amount of money—£50,000—in Massachusetts, "every farthing of which I received from my Estate in Jamaica." Other Vassalls did the same. These were huge wealth transfers from Jamaica into Massachusetts.
October 30, 2025 at 6:01 PM
This was no secret. William Vassall explained to anyone who would listen that he spent an enormous amount of money—£50,000—in Massachusetts, "every farthing of which I received from my Estate in Jamaica." Other Vassalls did the same. These were huge wealth transfers from Jamaica into Massachusetts.
Reposted by jbessmor
Listen.
NEW: Epstein survivors release the most powerful PSA I have ever seen.
Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.
Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.
November 17, 2025 at 1:52 PM
Listen.
Reposted by jbessmor
This is Archie. He's deaf and doesn't hear when his humans get home. Luckily, his little brother Frankie lets him know with a gentle nudge to make sure he doesn't miss the moment. 14/10 for both (TT: melissamilne)
November 13, 2025 at 11:56 PM
This is Archie. He's deaf and doesn't hear when his humans get home. Luckily, his little brother Frankie lets him know with a gentle nudge to make sure he doesn't miss the moment. 14/10 for both (TT: melissamilne)
This. Sexual violence and trafficking on this level are never only about sexual violence and trafficking.
November 16, 2025 at 4:16 PM
This. Sexual violence and trafficking on this level are never only about sexual violence and trafficking.
Reposted by jbessmor
Government funding bill cuts food safety regulations. See the provisions for yourself www.snopes.com/fact-check/g...
Government funding bill cuts food safety regulations. See the provisions for yourself
The bill prohibited the FDA from enforcing regulations aimed at increasing traceability of the supply chain, among other rules.
www.snopes.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:24 PM
Government funding bill cuts food safety regulations. See the provisions for yourself www.snopes.com/fact-check/g...
Reposted by jbessmor
Stunning. Archives are everything.
‘We don’t even know all of what we have.’ Howard University fights to preserve Black newspapers. www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/... Last year, during a move, workers found two whole boxes of Frederick Douglass’s’ The North Star’s first year of publication.
‘We don’t even know all of what we have.’ Howard fights to preserve Black newspapers.
Across the United States, scholars are working to preserve the history of the Black press before the brittle pages are lost forever. In a basement at Howard University, uncovered treasures have includ...
www.csmonitor.com
November 15, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Stunning. Archives are everything.
Reposted by jbessmor
The value of reading history is you know that in 1860 there were abolitionists who were so demoralized that they thought chattel slavery would be permanent. 5 years later those still alive had lived to see its end.
November 12, 2025 at 8:05 PM
The value of reading history is you know that in 1860 there were abolitionists who were so demoralized that they thought chattel slavery would be permanent. 5 years later those still alive had lived to see its end.
Reposted by jbessmor
“America does not have a full accounting of itself without the historic Black press,” says Nicole Carr, author, investigative journalist, and professor at Morehouse College in Atlanta.
www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/...
www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/...
‘We don’t even know all of what we have.’ Howard fights to preserve Black newspapers.
Across the United States, scholars are working to preserve the history of the Black press before the brittle pages are lost forever. In a basement at Howard University, uncovered treasures have includ...
www.csmonitor.com
November 13, 2025 at 2:52 PM
“America does not have a full accounting of itself without the historic Black press,” says Nicole Carr, author, investigative journalist, and professor at Morehouse College in Atlanta.
www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/...
www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/...
Reposted by jbessmor
This is Oakley. He has an injury that requires physical therapy and at-home massages. Luckily, his cat sibling River has been training his whole life for this. 14/10 for both
November 10, 2025 at 11:58 PM
This is Oakley. He has an injury that requires physical therapy and at-home massages. Luckily, his cat sibling River has been training his whole life for this. 14/10 for both
Reposted by jbessmor
CFP: "AMERICAN REVOLUTION INTERNATIONAL" - Huntington Library, Nov. 6-7, 2006. With generous support from the Early Modern Studies Institute at USC, my co-conspirators & I look forward to two days of generative conversation. Travel & lodging included! Proposals due 1/10. Please spread the word! 🙏
November 12, 2025 at 1:42 PM
CFP: "AMERICAN REVOLUTION INTERNATIONAL" - Huntington Library, Nov. 6-7, 2006. With generous support from the Early Modern Studies Institute at USC, my co-conspirators & I look forward to two days of generative conversation. Travel & lodging included! Proposals due 1/10. Please spread the word! 🙏
Reposted by jbessmor
Hey this is today. 😊
November 11, 2025 at 11:57 AM
Hey this is today. 😊
Reposted by jbessmor
Kyle Kingsbury is not a journalist. He is not an op-ed writer.
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
November 9, 2025 at 8:49 PM
Kyle Kingsbury is not a journalist. He is not an op-ed writer.
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
He is a computer safety researcher.
And he has written one of the most compelling, comprehensive accounts of the ongoing hell in Chicago that you could possibly imagine.
In under 1600 words.
aphyr.com/posts/397-i-...
Reposted by jbessmor
Throughout her life, Mrs. Rosalynn Carter championed caregivers, understanding the support they need to navigate the challenges of caring for those who are aging or ill. As we celebrate National Caregivers Month in November, you can honor caregivers by saying thank you.
#CaregiversMonth
#CaregiversMonth
November 10, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Throughout her life, Mrs. Rosalynn Carter championed caregivers, understanding the support they need to navigate the challenges of caring for those who are aging or ill. As we celebrate National Caregivers Month in November, you can honor caregivers by saying thank you.
#CaregiversMonth
#CaregiversMonth
Reposted by jbessmor
I recently had an expansive convo with two of the kickass leaders of a HUGE collective action archiving project, and it's out today.
check it out: youtu.be/xrCElwgY5Co?...
check it out: youtu.be/xrCElwgY5Co?...
Volunteers Archived 10,000 Signs from National Parks (with Jenny McBurney and Lynda Kellam)
YouTube video by 404 Media
youtu.be
November 10, 2025 at 2:11 PM
I recently had an expansive convo with two of the kickass leaders of a HUGE collective action archiving project, and it's out today.
check it out: youtu.be/xrCElwgY5Co?...
check it out: youtu.be/xrCElwgY5Co?...
Reposted by jbessmor
GOOD MORNING.
IT’S ELECTION DAY! IF YOU DID NOT VOTE EARLY AND YOUR STATE IS HAVING ELECTIONS RN, GO VOTE!
YOUR LOCAL ELECTIONS ARE JUST AS, IF NOT MORE, IMPACTFUL THAN NATIONAL ONES!
And in some states you can register AND vote in the same day!
I’m omw to vote rn! GET UP! 🙂
IT’S ELECTION DAY! IF YOU DID NOT VOTE EARLY AND YOUR STATE IS HAVING ELECTIONS RN, GO VOTE!
YOUR LOCAL ELECTIONS ARE JUST AS, IF NOT MORE, IMPACTFUL THAN NATIONAL ONES!
And in some states you can register AND vote in the same day!
I’m omw to vote rn! GET UP! 🙂
November 4, 2025 at 2:21 PM
GOOD MORNING.
IT’S ELECTION DAY! IF YOU DID NOT VOTE EARLY AND YOUR STATE IS HAVING ELECTIONS RN, GO VOTE!
YOUR LOCAL ELECTIONS ARE JUST AS, IF NOT MORE, IMPACTFUL THAN NATIONAL ONES!
And in some states you can register AND vote in the same day!
I’m omw to vote rn! GET UP! 🙂
IT’S ELECTION DAY! IF YOU DID NOT VOTE EARLY AND YOUR STATE IS HAVING ELECTIONS RN, GO VOTE!
YOUR LOCAL ELECTIONS ARE JUST AS, IF NOT MORE, IMPACTFUL THAN NATIONAL ONES!
And in some states you can register AND vote in the same day!
I’m omw to vote rn! GET UP! 🙂
Reposted by jbessmor
Nearly 2 million people in Illinois could lose SNAP benefits starting Saturday. Here's a list of food pantries in Chicago & the suburbs if you're looking to donate or you need extra food. tinyurl.com/2zxvrxx5
Where to find Chicago-area food pantries if SNAP goes away during the shutdown
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program will be cut off Saturday unless Congress acts. Here’s a list of food pantries across Chicago and the suburbs.
tinyurl.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Nearly 2 million people in Illinois could lose SNAP benefits starting Saturday. Here's a list of food pantries in Chicago & the suburbs if you're looking to donate or you need extra food. tinyurl.com/2zxvrxx5
Reposted by jbessmor
Calling all undergraduates! Submit by November 15 to present at the Undergraduate Research Lightning Rounds at #AHA26 in Chicago, featuring 3-minute presentations by undergraduate historians describing their research. Learn more and submit at the link. 🗃️
Presenting Undergraduate Research at the Annual Meeting - AHA
Learn how to submit a proposal to present your undergraduate thesis or research at the AHA annual meeting.
www.historians.org
October 30, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Calling all undergraduates! Submit by November 15 to present at the Undergraduate Research Lightning Rounds at #AHA26 in Chicago, featuring 3-minute presentations by undergraduate historians describing their research. Learn more and submit at the link. 🗃️
Reposted by jbessmor
A rare happy story: The Boston Museum of Fine Arts has restored its holdings of the works of the enslaved potter David Drake to his descendants, following the pattern of Holocaust art restitution, the first time a museum has restored a work produced by an enslaved person.
MFA Boston returns works by 19th-century enslaved artist David Drake to his heirs
The terms of the restitution of the two ceramic pots have been cast in the mould of Nazi war-loot agreements
www.theartnewspaper.com
October 30, 2025 at 1:54 PM
A rare happy story: The Boston Museum of Fine Arts has restored its holdings of the works of the enslaved potter David Drake to his descendants, following the pattern of Holocaust art restitution, the first time a museum has restored a work produced by an enslaved person.
Reposted by jbessmor
Alice Walker said, “When it is all too much, when the news is so bad meditation itself feels useless, and a single life feels too small a stone to offer… Find those people who are committed to changing our scary reality… People gathering, people working to change the intolerable.”
October 29, 2025 at 12:22 AM
Alice Walker said, “When it is all too much, when the news is so bad meditation itself feels useless, and a single life feels too small a stone to offer… Find those people who are committed to changing our scary reality… People gathering, people working to change the intolerable.”
Reposted by jbessmor
The government of Jamaica has set up a portal for contributing to official relief efforts. I will update this thread if anything analogous opens up for Haiti, Cuba, or the DR
supportjamaica.gov.jm
supportjamaica.gov.jm
Support Jamaica
supportjamaica.gov.jm
October 28, 2025 at 5:08 PM
The government of Jamaica has set up a portal for contributing to official relief efforts. I will update this thread if anything analogous opens up for Haiti, Cuba, or the DR
supportjamaica.gov.jm
supportjamaica.gov.jm
Reposted by jbessmor
Again, not the most important here, but I'm begging for a journalist to figure out how/why NPS put up a Confederate statue DURING A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. How is this "essential" when food stamps are not?
Feels symbolic that a Confederate statue first installed in 1901, at the peak of the consolidation of the Jim Crow system—when the states of the former Confederacy were in the midst of revising their constitutions to disfranchise Black citizens—has been reinstalled.
www.npr.org/2025/10/27/n...
www.npr.org/2025/10/27/n...
A Confederate statue toppled in Washington, D.C., in 2020 has been reinstalled
A statue of Confederate general Albert Pike, which had been pulled down during the Black Lives Matter movement, has been put back up in Washington, D.C.'s Judiciary Square.
www.npr.org
October 28, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Again, not the most important here, but I'm begging for a journalist to figure out how/why NPS put up a Confederate statue DURING A GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. How is this "essential" when food stamps are not?
Reposted by jbessmor
If you have it please donate cash to the food banks. $10 in their hands will feed more people than the $10 worth of canned goods you can buy for retail prices. Also check on your elders. Many of them will not admit they rely on these programs so grocery gift cards or a surprise bag of staples
US Department of Agriculture says no food aid benefits will be issued next month reut.rs/3WohHMk
US Department of Agriculture says no food aid benefits will be issued next month
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said on Saturday that food benefits under one of the country's biggest social assistance programs will not be issued next month amid the ongoing federal government shutdown.
reut.rs
October 26, 2025 at 3:37 PM
If you have it please donate cash to the food banks. $10 in their hands will feed more people than the $10 worth of canned goods you can buy for retail prices. Also check on your elders. Many of them will not admit they rely on these programs so grocery gift cards or a surprise bag of staples
Reposted by jbessmor
Belgian AI scientists are advocating *against* the use of AI in academia. “If independent thinking is no longer encouraged at university, where would it?” apache.be/2025/10/24/b...
Belgian AI scientists resist the use of AI in academia
Several AI scientists have published an open letter calling for a ban on AI use by students.
apache.be
October 24, 2025 at 9:34 AM
Belgian AI scientists are advocating *against* the use of AI in academia. “If independent thinking is no longer encouraged at university, where would it?” apache.be/2025/10/24/b...