The annual Davis, Markert, Nickerson Lecture on Academic and Intellectual Freedom is named for three U-M faculty members—Chandler Davis, Clement Markert, and Mark Nickerson—who in 1954 were called to testify before the House Un-American Activities Committee. All invoked constitutional rights and refused to answer questions about their political associations. The three were suspended from the University with subsequent hearings and committee actions resulting in the reinstatement of Markert, an assistant professor who eventually gained tenure, and the dismissal of Davis, an instructor, and Nickerson, a tenured associate professor.

32nd Annual Davis, Markert, Nickerson Lecture on Academic and Intellectual Freedom

 “Revisiting Du Bois and ‘The Propaganda of History’”

Monday, February 6, 2023

4 pm – 5:30 pm

University of Michigan Law School
Honigman Auditorium
100 Hutchins Hall
625 South State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109

via Livestream

Program

To help our planning, please RSVP to attend the 32nd Annual DMN Lecture here.

However, you are welcome to attend even if you do not RSVP in advance.

Abstract

The youth-centric protests against police violence and white supremacy during the summer of 2020 were a dramatic demonstration of how conservatives have failed to secure their vision of American history among a large portion of the next generation of Americans. The subsequent and ongoing effort to gag any discussion of American history that doesn’t affirm a triumphant narrative of national innocence, exemplified in campaign against “CRT” during the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial race and the “anti-woke” politics of Ron DeSantis’ Florida, represents an attempt to make up for lost time; a rear-guard action to stave off further defeat.

Jamelle Bouie

Based in Charlottesville, Virginia and Washington D.C., Jamelle Bouie is a columnist for the New York Times and political analyst for CBS News. He covers history and politics.

Prior to the Times, Jamelle was chief political correspondent for Slate magazine. And before that, he was a staff writer at The Daily Beast and held fellowships at The American Prospect and The Nation magazine. He attended the University of Virginia, where he graduated with a degree in political and social thought, and government.

Jamelle is also a photographer, documenting his surroundings using digital and analog tools. To see his photos, visit his blog or follow him on Instagram. He’s also on Twitter.