Robert Korstad
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Robert Korstad is the Kevin D. Gorter Professor of Public Policy Studies and History at Duke University, where he directs the B.N. Duke Scholars Program and is the Co-director for the Program on History, Public Policy and Social Change. He received his B. A. and Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
His research interests include twentieth century U. S. history, labor history, African American history, and contemporary social policy, and he is the co-director of a major documentary research project at Duke's Center for Documentary Studies, "Behind the Veil: Documenting African American Life in the Jim Crow South."
His publications include: Civil Rights Unionism: Tobacco Workers and the Struggle for Democracy in the Mid-Twentieth South (University of North Carolina Press, 2003); Like a Family: The Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World (coeditor, University of North Carolina Press, revised edition, 2000); Remembering Jim Crow: African Americans Talk About Life in the Jim Crow South (The New Press, 2001). He has published articles in the American Historical Review, the Journal of American History, and Social Science History.
Office:
112 Sanford Building
Box 90245
Durham, NC 27708Phone:
(919) 613-7335
Email:
rkorstad@duke.edu
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Books
Like a Family: The Making of a Southern Cotton Mill World (1987)Awards: Winner of the 1988 Albert J. Beveridge Award, American Historical Association; Co-winner of the 1988 Merle Curti Award in American Social History, Organization of American Historians; Honorable Mention, 1988 John Hope Franklin Publication Prize, American Studies Association; Winner of the 1988 Philip Taft Labor History Award; Winner of the 1988 History Book Award, Merit Award of Recognition, North Carolina Society of Historians.
Authors: Jacquelyn Dowd Hall, James Leloudis, Robert Rodgers Korstad, Mary Murphy, Lu Ann Jones, and Christopher B. Daly
Like a Family, which was first published in 1987, is considered a classic text in the history of the American labor system.The narratives of workers in the Southern cotton mill industry of the 1920s and 1930s are revealed through superb interviews, letters, and articles from the trade press. This new edition contains an afterword, making it an even better tool in the study of American social history.
Civil Rights Unionism: Tobacco Workers and the Struggle for Democracy in the Mid-Twentieth-Century South (2003)Awards: Winner, 2004 H. L. Mitchell Award, Southern Historical Association; 2004 Charles S. Sydnor Award, Southern Historical Association; Winner, 2004 Philip Taft Labor History Award; Co-winner, 2004 Liberty Legacy Foundation Award, Organization of American Historians.
Korstad highlights the forgotten heroes of Local 22 of the Food, Tobacco, Agricultural and Allied Workers of America-CIO through interviews with black and white tobacco workers in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The book focuses on the search for civil rights and labor rights within a system of racial capitalism that, Korstad argues, “constrains the prospects for justice and democracy today.”
Click here to visit the Civil Rights Unionism webpage.
Remembering Jim Crow: African Americans Tell About Life in the Segregated South (2003)Editors: William H. Chafe, Raymond Gavins, and Robert Korstad
Remembering Jim Crow contains an extensive oral history of African American life under segregation. In the book, different men and women give first-hand accounts of how their everyday life was subject to intense racial segregation and oppression during the Jim Crow Era. At the same time, the book sheds light on how black southerners fought back against this system of oppression and searched for respect at a time when they were denied basic human rights.
To Right These Wrongs: the North Carolina Fund and the Battle to End Poverty and Inequality in 1960s America (2010)Authors: Robert Korstad and James Leloudis
To Right These Wrongs is based on an analysis of the North Carolina Fund, which was established by Governor Terry Sanford in 1963. The Fund was created to assist the many families who struggled to survive on a daily basis. In this book, Korstad and Leloudis describe how the Fund attempted to democratically mobilize the poor and weaken current systems of inequality in the Jim Crow era. They note that although the Fund was ultimately unable to win in the battle against poverty, the motivations and efforts behind it continue to serve as inspiration for future generations of Americans.
Click here to visit the To Right These Wrongs webpage.
Other Publications
Click here to view a full list of Korstad’s publications.
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Radio Appearances
April 13, 2005
"Public Opinion About Poverty"
The State of Things
North Carolina Public Radio - WUNC
Click here to listen to program.
April 11, 2005
"Seeds of Sustenance: The North Carolina Fund"
North Carolina Voices - Understanding Poverty
North Carolina Public Radio - WUNC
Click here to listen to program.
March 3, 2005
"RJR Union"
The State of Things
North Carolina Public Radio - WUNC
Click here to listen to program.
December 6, 2001
"Remembering Jim Crow"
The Diane Rehm Show
WAMU 88.5FM - American University Radio
Click here to listen to program.
November 21, 2001
"Remembering Jim Crow"
The Connection
WBUR Boston
Click here to listen to program.
