Blair Kelley

Jun 12, 2020

Public History PhD Student, Melody Hunter-Pillion, Hosts Podcast – “Southern Futures”

Public History doctoral student and Associate Director of Communications & Strategy at UNC’s Center for the Study of the American South, Melody Hunter-Pillion, hosts a new UNC podcast, “Southern Futures.” This six-episode series, airing once a week, brings together scholars in the humanities and other fields for authentic and accessible conversations about our diverse and… 

Sep 1, 2017

Professor Blair Kelly on WUNC’s The State of Things

In the gospel musical "Crowns" which opened at Raleigh's Little Theater August 25th, every hat tells a story. On Frank Stasio's "The State of Things," Professor Blair Kelley joined "Crowns" director and cast members to provide context on the significance of women’s head coverings in African-American history.  

Dec 24, 2016

History Students Organize to Combat Hate Speech

With only three weeks to prepare, students didn't know if they had gotten the word out in time about their Resist Hate Teach In. But as people started filing in, their worries turned from will they come to will there be enough seats. 

Sep 23, 2016

You Can’t Tell U.S. History Without Black History. Finally, a Museum Gets That.

When I walked into the new National Museum of African American History and Culture for a preview last week, my excitement was tempered. I’d heard about the feats of engineering: rooms built around a massive a guard tower from Louisiana’s Angola Prison, a Southern Railroad train car and a Tuskegee Airman-flown plane. I’d heard about the big donationsfrom Oprah Winfrey and Michael Jordan. I’d followed the decades-long campaign for real estate and funding that were required to make this new institution a reality. But that was the story of the museum itself. I was worried that the exhibits might fall short of illustrating — panel by panel, artifact by artifact — the story of black America, which is not merely about the biggest names and the best-remembered movements. I was worried about what might have been intentionally left out or inadvertently forgotten.