Richard A Bailey
@richardabailey.bsky.social
Historian. Professor. Author, “Race and Redemption in Puritan New England” (OUP, 2011). northern AL in western NY. Fly fisher. Personal account. Thus, opinions = mine.
http://richardabailey.com
https://linktr.ee/richardabailey
http://richardabailey.com
https://linktr.ee/richardabailey
“this effort has been absurd; there is no way to kill someone without some element of torture, either psychological, physical, or both.”
Tortured to Death in Alabama - The Atlantic
Tortured to Death in Alabama - The Atlantic
October 25, 2025 at 11:57 AM
“this effort has been absurd; there is no way to kill someone without some element of torture, either psychological, physical, or both.”
Tortured to Death in Alabama - The Atlantic
Tortured to Death in Alabama - The Atlantic
Grateful to the folks at Front Porch Republic for inviting me to share on the passing of Gurney Norman—writer, documentarian, advocate, Kentucky poet laureate, teacher, mentor, & friend.
Whether you read them, let me encourage you to read some of Gurney’s words. You’ll be better for doing so.
Whether you read them, let me encourage you to read some of Gurney’s words. You’ll be better for doing so.
Inside a Web of Love: Thoughts on Gurney Norman - Front Porch Republic
As Gurney’s family and friends wrestle with the loss of their friend, I hope they—or more accurately we—will lean into being lonely inside a web of love.
www.frontporchrepublic.com
October 16, 2025 at 10:43 AM
Grateful to the folks at Front Porch Republic for inviting me to share on the passing of Gurney Norman—writer, documentarian, advocate, Kentucky poet laureate, teacher, mentor, & friend.
Whether you read them, let me encourage you to read some of Gurney’s words. You’ll be better for doing so.
Whether you read them, let me encourage you to read some of Gurney’s words. You’ll be better for doing so.
The best way to prove universities’ value is to get countercultural again.…That means defending inefficient, human-centered learning: strange and premodern practices such as reading an old book, then writing a long essay about it.”
newrepublic.com/article/1983...
newrepublic.com/article/1983...
What Besieged Universities Can Learn From the Christian Resurgence
Educators can fight back against Trump’s attacks by re-embracing “old-fashioned” disciplines and ideas.
newrepublic.com
August 24, 2025 at 12:49 PM
The best way to prove universities’ value is to get countercultural again.…That means defending inefficient, human-centered learning: strange and premodern practices such as reading an old book, then writing a long essay about it.”
newrepublic.com/article/1983...
newrepublic.com/article/1983...
“[P]art of being a historian during Trump 2.0 is to witness a renewal of debunked mythologies and outdated ideas made fresh by a state apparatus deeply invested in protecting the historical reputation of whiteness.”
https://newrepublic.com/article/198384/trump-white-nationalist-vision-future-history
https://newrepublic.com/article/198384/trump-white-nationalist-vision-future-history
Trump’s White Nationalist Vision for the Future of History
The administration is using the tools of the state to influence—even poison—how America’s racial history will be taught in our public forums and schools.
newrepublic.com
August 22, 2025 at 10:54 AM
“[P]art of being a historian during Trump 2.0 is to witness a renewal of debunked mythologies and outdated ideas made fresh by a state apparatus deeply invested in protecting the historical reputation of whiteness.”
https://newrepublic.com/article/198384/trump-white-nationalist-vision-future-history
https://newrepublic.com/article/198384/trump-white-nationalist-vision-future-history
What an amazing conversation between @silashouse and @crystalwilki about the writing of creative nonfiction. Once again, I’m reminded how much these folks rock. Y’all find it wherever you go for podcasts and listen.
August 21, 2025 at 3:28 PM
What an amazing conversation between @silashouse and @crystalwilki about the writing of creative nonfiction. Once again, I’m reminded how much these folks rock. Y’all find it wherever you go for podcasts and listen.
“Leaving the next generation ignorant of this historical knowledge, of the institutions, cultural practices, and processes that have either created or nourished division, will only perpetuate and deepen division.”
https://newrepublic.com/article/198366/indoctrination-call-education
https://newrepublic.com/article/198366/indoctrination-call-education
“Indoctrination”? We Call It “Education.”
It’s not “divisive” to teach about division. It’s divisive to bury it.
newrepublic.com
August 18, 2025 at 11:16 AM
“Leaving the next generation ignorant of this historical knowledge, of the institutions, cultural practices, and processes that have either created or nourished division, will only perpetuate and deepen division.”
https://newrepublic.com/article/198366/indoctrination-call-education
https://newrepublic.com/article/198366/indoctrination-call-education
“As we enjoy ceremonies in 2026, we might also recall that celebration without commemoration is vanity, that flattering memory without truthful history is self-delusion.”
https://newrepublic.com/article/198387/trump-reckless-assault-remembrance
https://newrepublic.com/article/198387/trump-reckless-assault-remembrance
Trump’s Reckless Assault on Remembrance
The attempts by his administration to control the ways Americans engage with our nation’s history threaten to weaken patriotism, not strengthen it.
newrepublic.com
August 17, 2025 at 1:14 PM
“As we enjoy ceremonies in 2026, we might also recall that celebration without commemoration is vanity, that flattering memory without truthful history is self-delusion.”
https://newrepublic.com/article/198387/trump-reckless-assault-remembrance
https://newrepublic.com/article/198387/trump-reckless-assault-remembrance
A taste of Blight’s usual incisive prose: “official triumphal narratives rooted in a brand of pickled patriotism designed to force the past to serve the present.”
Pickled patriotism.
newrepublic.com/article/1983...
Pickled patriotism.
newrepublic.com/article/1983...
What if History Died by Sanctioned Ignorance?
We must mobilize now to defend our profession, not only with research and teaching but in the realm of politics and public persuasion.
newrepublic.com
August 16, 2025 at 12:43 PM
A taste of Blight’s usual incisive prose: “official triumphal narratives rooted in a brand of pickled patriotism designed to force the past to serve the present.”
Pickled patriotism.
newrepublic.com/article/1983...
Pickled patriotism.
newrepublic.com/article/1983...
Progressively getting situated in a new space. This gift from some students seemed appropriate to bring over on Wendell’s ninety-first birthday.
August 5, 2025 at 3:14 PM
Progressively getting situated in a new space. This gift from some students seemed appropriate to bring over on Wendell’s ninety-first birthday.
Though a few years removed, I’ve been haunted (in a good way) by memories of Easy Bistro’s “Ode to Peanuts.” Today, Broadbent hams helped me relive that experience.
July 26, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Though a few years removed, I’ve been haunted (in a good way) by memories of Easy Bistro’s “Ode to Peanuts.” Today, Broadbent hams helped me relive that experience.
Here we are: bringing up the rear #SHEAR2025
July 20, 2025 at 4:01 PM
Here we are: bringing up the rear #SHEAR2025
I love (read: laugh/hate/some such verb) seeing folks (both in & out of classroom spaces) passing off AI-generated ideas as their own believing no one can tell. I don’t begrudge them (this piece shares some of the reasons why) but I “love” it nonetheless.
apple.news/AJiQDJ5H9QVO...
apple.news/AJiQDJ5H9QVO...
What Happens After A.I. Destroys College Writing? — The New Yorker
The demise of the English paper will end a long intellectual tradition, but it’s also an opportunity to reëxamine the purpose of higher education.
apple.news
July 1, 2025 at 11:21 AM
I love (read: laugh/hate/some such verb) seeing folks (both in & out of classroom spaces) passing off AI-generated ideas as their own believing no one can tell. I don’t begrudge them (this piece shares some of the reasons why) but I “love” it nonetheless.
apple.news/AJiQDJ5H9QVO...
apple.news/AJiQDJ5H9QVO...
A good morning to return (once again) to •The Long-Legged House•
June 22, 2025 at 2:25 PM
A good morning to return (once again) to •The Long-Legged House•
Good friends make for good days
May 18, 2025 at 11:29 PM
Good friends make for good days
Reposted by Richard A Bailey
I just did so much damage. Didn’t need to see this.
Beginning TODAY (May 14, 2025), @upmississippi.bsky.social
will offer a 55% website discount on all books, including mine. Click here to order:
www.upress.state.ms.us/Contribu.../...
will offer a 55% website discount on all books, including mine. Click here to order:
www.upress.state.ms.us/Contribu.../...
May 15, 2025 at 10:02 PM
I just did so much damage. Didn’t need to see this.
Reposted by Richard A Bailey
Some sad confirmation from @bcgl.bsky.social while I was at UW last week—the National Digital Newspaper Program—which builds Chronicling America—has been shut down
Historical newspapers are probably the archival material most used by the general public—for genealogy, local history—it’s such a loss
Historical newspapers are probably the archival material most used by the general public—for genealogy, local history—it’s such a loss
About this Collection | Chronicling America | Digital Collections | Library of Congress
Search America's Historic Newspaper Pages through 1963 Please Note: The Library of Congress has transitioned the longstanding Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers website to this new digi...
www.loc.gov
May 12, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Some sad confirmation from @bcgl.bsky.social while I was at UW last week—the National Digital Newspaper Program—which builds Chronicling America—has been shut down
Historical newspapers are probably the archival material most used by the general public—for genealogy, local history—it’s such a loss
Historical newspapers are probably the archival material most used by the general public—for genealogy, local history—it’s such a loss
Pre-archives time spent writing on a manuscript purportedly arguing about race & early American evangelicalism while uncertain how these pages made it thru a survey course let alone to the desk of a major university press.
Friends, given what I had to write, I did not do what the cup encouraged.
Friends, given what I had to write, I did not do what the cup encouraged.
May 7, 2025 at 3:07 PM
Pre-archives time spent writing on a manuscript purportedly arguing about race & early American evangelicalism while uncertain how these pages made it thru a survey course let alone to the desk of a major university press.
Friends, given what I had to write, I did not do what the cup encouraged.
Friends, given what I had to write, I did not do what the cup encouraged.
April 26, 2025 at 11:15 AM
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration isn’t only about predicting your weather. For many Americans, it’s also about what sits on their plates.
Or perhaps sat.
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/c...
Or perhaps sat.
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/c...
NOAA Staffing Cuts Threaten Years of Salmon Harvests
In Washington, where salmon is a multibillion dollar industry, government staff terminations and budget freezes may put salmon production at risk.
www.nytimes.com
April 9, 2025 at 12:34 PM
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration isn’t only about predicting your weather. For many Americans, it’s also about what sits on their plates.
Or perhaps sat.
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/c...
Or perhaps sat.
www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/c...