Wednesday, March 25, 2009

John Hope Franklin, (1915-2009)

Anyone familiar with "Black Studies" or whatever you want to call it (AA History, AAADS, etc.) knows the name of John Hope Franklin. He literally wrote the book on Black History--'From Slavery to Freedom'--the 8th edition of which is a about two feet away from me on my office desk as I type this. He died today at the age of 94.

He was a gifted scholar and an engaging writer--something difficult to find among historians. Anyone who is dismissive of "Black History" has never read Dr. Franklin's work, and is lesser for it.

The NYT obit here.

Rest in peace.

UPDATE: An excellent tribute by Walter Dellinger, legal juggernaut, in WaPo here.

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