Author Archives: msjonz

David Myers and the UCLA Luskin Center for History and Policy offered me a unique opportunity to reflect out loud on writing history in troubled time with an invitation to the “Historians and Society” series. I took the occasion to explore … Continue reading →

At Rutgers Law, I was reunited with my friend Elise Boddie, at the invitation of Professor Rose Cuison Villazor, who directs the Rutgers-Newark Law School Center for Immigration Law, Policy and Justice. Special thanks to Dean David Lopez and Chancellor Nancy … Continue reading →

I was honored when Dean Josh Sharfstein invited me to speak with the public health community about my research on birthright citizenship. I wasn’t sure that I knew quite what to say, but a great audience helped create a strong … Continue reading →

Among a small cadres of black women historians whose work paved the way for my own was Dr. Rosalyn Terborg-Penn. Her pioneering work on black women in the women’s suffrage movement is a text to which I still return and … Continue reading →

High praise for Birthright Citizens: “If you want to understand the debates that are tearing our country apart right now, you must start here.”      

Karin Wulf singles out Birthright Citizens: “I read some really wonderful books this year, and added a huge number to my “must read” pile. Among the very best, and one I’m urging family and friends as well as colleagues to … Continue reading →

This one came straight from the heart, in a way that was only possible after talking personally with Mrs. Obama. I continue to wrestle with my so-called mixed-race family history and identity, but after reading her memoir, Becoming, I was … Continue reading →

This afternoon we joined his family and friends to say goodbye to a beloved colleague and friend, Ira Berlin. His scholarship is legend in the field of slavery. And I am especially indebted to Ira for his interest in Birthright … Continue reading →