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Keisha N. Blain

MSNBC Columnist

Keisha N. Blain is an award-winning historian and writer. She is a professor of Africana studies and history at Brown University and has written extensively about race, gender and politics in national and global perspectives. Her most recent book is “Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer’s Enduring Message to America.” 

Keisha N. Blain is an award-winning historian and writer. She is a professor of Africana studies and history at Brown University and has written extensively about race, gender and politics in national and global perspectives. Her most recent book is “Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer’s Enduring Message to America.” 

Latest from Keisha N. Blain

1d ago

Getting indicted by Fani Willis must be sending Donald Trump through the roof

Georgia DA Fani Willis has been clear that Donald Trump's status as a former president means nothing. Her indictment proves she won't be intimidated by him.
24d ago

Florida pushes its students to think more positively about slavery

According to Florida's new guidelines, instructors will be expected to teach that enslaved people “developed skills” that “could be applied for their personal benefit.”
42d ago

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson is one of the sharpest thinkers of our time

Justice Kentanji Brown Jackson dissent in last week’s affirmative action decision is proof President Biden was right to nominate a Black woman to the Supreme Court.
58d ago

There's no better time than Juneteenth to demand reparations for African Americans

Juneteenth was made a federal holiday in 2021 when President Joe Biden signed the legislation into law. It commemorates the end of legalized slavery in the U.S.
333d ago

Why 'The Woman King' is a story that Americans need to see

Viola Davis' "The Woman King" is no fairy tale. It highlights African history few Americans know about.
374d ago

Some think a movie about Emmett Till is unnecessary. Here's why they're wrong.

Emmett Till's lynching death was a major catalyst for the civil rights movement.
406d ago

Whitewashing slavery isn't education; it's propaganda

The brutality of slavery is well documented in the historical record.
422d ago

Juneteenth shouldn't be about Black people spending but about Black people getting paid

Juneteenth should cause us to think about how little wealth Black Americans have accrued.
454d ago

For Black Americans, yesterday's housing discrimination is today's air pollution crisis

Redlining and environmental racism worked in tandem to harm Black communities.
456d ago

Biden called white supremacy our biggest threat. After Buffalo, he must act like it.

Biden correctly identified the threat of white supremacy but hasn't done enough to combat it.
511d ago

One answer by Ketanji Brown Jackson all but dooms affirmative action programs

Banning affirmative action would deepen the racial wealth gap.