Ben Railton
@americanstudier.bsky.social
Prof of Amer Lit & Studies. Dad to 2 amazing young men. Married. We the People: http://tinyurl.com/yyhxjktb; Of Thee I Sing: http://tinyurl.com/y6hsozjx. #ScholarSunday guru. https://blackwhiteandread.com he/him
Pinned
The Celestials’ Last Game | Ben Railton
Baseball, Bigotry, and the Battle for America
americanstudier.podbean.com
For new followers, here's my latest project, a podcast on sports histories, exclusion & inclusion, & the worst & best of America--& my single favorite moment from American history.
americanstudier.podbean.com
americanstudier.podbean.com
Reposted by Ben Railton
BLACK HISTORY MONTH CENTENNIAL with the Timothy Thomas Fortune Cultural Center #Blackademics
February 4, 2026 at 3:34 PM
BLACK HISTORY MONTH CENTENNIAL with the Timothy Thomas Fortune Cultural Center #Blackademics
Did you know that Cooper introduced his most iconic character not in The Last of the Mohicans, but three years earlier in his best historical novel & one deeply influenced by his fraught relationship with his own revolutionary founding father? That & more in today’s blog post! 🗃️
So for the next post in my Fenimore Cooper Studying blog series, how Cooper’s third & fourth novels exemplify my categories of historical & period fiction, respectively!
blackwhiteandread.com/february-3-2...
blackwhiteandread.com/february-3-2...
February 3, 2026: Fenimore Cooper Studying: The Pioneers & The Pilot – Black and White and Read All Over
[200 years ago Wednesday, James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans was published. That’s one of many Cooper novels with a lot to tell us about his and our America, so this week I’ll AmericanSt...
blackwhiteandread.com
February 3, 2026 at 11:21 PM
Did you know that Cooper introduced his most iconic character not in The Last of the Mohicans, but three years earlier in his best historical novel & one deeply influenced by his fraught relationship with his own revolutionary founding father? That & more in today’s blog post! 🗃️
“A missionary trip.” Believe you misspelled “The Crusades Rebooted,” you useful idiots.
As an influencer, Nick Shirley had struggled to expand his reach. But after a missionary trip pushed him to try a new approach, he caused a sensation with a video claiming to expose fraud at Somali-run day care centers in Minnesota. nyti.ms/45GzJi4
February 3, 2026 at 10:05 PM
“A missionary trip.” Believe you misspelled “The Crusades Rebooted,” you useful idiots.
Reposted by Ben Railton
Have you heard of Nellie Francis, a Gospel singer who became of the most successful anti-lynching advocates? Lena Olive Smith, the only Black woman with a law practice in MN in the 20s & 30s? William Hazel, the stained-glass artist who helped desegregate St. Paul hotels? 🗃️ @eddsmitty.bsky.social
So for my latest @satevepost.bsky.social Considering History column, a #BHM special on Minnesota's foundational Black histories, white supremacy, & America's defining diversity! 🗃️
www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2026/02/cons...
www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2026/02/cons...
Considering History: Minnesota’s Black History and America’s Defining Diversity | The Saturday Evening Post
Minnesota’s African American history highlights how much the state has always embodied diversity and the ongoing challenge of living up to our ideals of equality and justice for all.
www.saturdayeveningpost.com
February 3, 2026 at 2:46 PM
Have you heard of Nellie Francis, a Gospel singer who became of the most successful anti-lynching advocates? Lena Olive Smith, the only Black woman with a law practice in MN in the 20s & 30s? William Hazel, the stained-glass artist who helped desegregate St. Paul hotels? 🗃️ @eddsmitty.bsky.social
Reposted by Ben Railton
This week I wrote about how lucky we all were to live at the same time as Catherine O'Hara through a review of Waiting for Guffman (1996).
O'Hara, Levy, Guest, Willard, McKean, Shearer, and Posey? I'm so glad these brilliant, funny people found each other and made such perfect films about humanity.
O'Hara, Levy, Guest, Willard, McKean, Shearer, and Posey? I'm so glad these brilliant, funny people found each other and made such perfect films about humanity.
Catherine's Talent isn't O'Fair-a – Black and White and Read All Over
A Contemporary History Approach to Waiting for Guffman (1996)
blackwhiteandread.com
February 3, 2026 at 6:27 PM
This week I wrote about how lucky we all were to live at the same time as Catherine O'Hara through a review of Waiting for Guffman (1996).
O'Hara, Levy, Guest, Willard, McKean, Shearer, and Posey? I'm so glad these brilliant, funny people found each other and made such perfect films about humanity.
O'Hara, Levy, Guest, Willard, McKean, Shearer, and Posey? I'm so glad these brilliant, funny people found each other and made such perfect films about humanity.
Have you heard of Nellie Francis, a Gospel singer who became of the most successful anti-lynching advocates? Lena Olive Smith, the only Black woman with a law practice in MN in the 20s & 30s? William Hazel, the stained-glass artist who helped desegregate St. Paul hotels? 🗃️ @eddsmitty.bsky.social
So for my latest @satevepost.bsky.social Considering History column, a #BHM special on Minnesota's foundational Black histories, white supremacy, & America's defining diversity! 🗃️
www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2026/02/cons...
www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2026/02/cons...
Considering History: Minnesota’s Black History and America’s Defining Diversity | The Saturday Evening Post
Minnesota’s African American history highlights how much the state has always embodied diversity and the ongoing challenge of living up to our ideals of equality and justice for all.
www.saturdayeveningpost.com
February 3, 2026 at 2:46 PM
Have you heard of Nellie Francis, a Gospel singer who became of the most successful anti-lynching advocates? Lena Olive Smith, the only Black woman with a law practice in MN in the 20s & 30s? William Hazel, the stained-glass artist who helped desegregate St. Paul hotels? 🗃️ @eddsmitty.bsky.social
Happy Elizabeth Blackwell Day & Norman Rockwell Day! Ain’t that America?
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/february-n...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/february-n...
February Nominees
February 1: Langston Hughes , one of America’s most talented poets and writers , and the only one equally adept writing about himself , ent...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com
February 3, 2026 at 1:38 PM
Happy Elizabeth Blackwell Day & Norman Rockwell Day! Ain’t that America?
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/february-n...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/february-n...
Reposted by Ben Railton
Give the rare gift of learning Black history in Minnesota. #TwinCities
So for my latest @satevepost.bsky.social Considering History column, a #BHM special on Minnesota's foundational Black histories, white supremacy, & America's defining diversity! 🗃️
www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2026/02/cons...
www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2026/02/cons...
Considering History: Minnesota’s Black History and America’s Defining Diversity | The Saturday Evening Post
Minnesota’s African American history highlights how much the state has always embodied diversity and the ongoing challenge of living up to our ideals of equality and justice for all.
www.saturdayeveningpost.com
February 3, 2026 at 12:12 AM
Give the rare gift of learning Black history in Minnesota. #TwinCities
Did you know that James Fenimore Cooper’s second novel, & first work of American historical fiction, featured none other than George Washington as an in-disguise Revolutionary spy? That & more in today’s debut post in my CooperStudying blog series! 🗃️
Starting with today's post on three anxieties of influence that together help explain the origins of Cooper's career & his first two novels, Precaution (1820) & The Spy (1821)--from his wife to England to his own legendary Founding Father!
blackwhiteandread.com/february-2-2...
blackwhiteandread.com/february-2-2...
February 2, 2026: Fenimore Cooper Studying: Precaution & The Spy – Black and White and Read All Over
[200 years ago Wednesday, James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans was published. That’s one of many Cooper novels with a lot to tell us about his and our America, so this week I’ll AmericanSt...
blackwhiteandread.com
February 3, 2026 at 12:11 AM
Did you know that James Fenimore Cooper’s second novel, & first work of American historical fiction, featured none other than George Washington as an in-disguise Revolutionary spy? That & more in today’s debut post in my CooperStudying blog series! 🗃️
Reposted by Ben Railton
Do we recall how Judge Frollo dies in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)?
While trampling laws to enact his genocidal, rapist will, he attacks an asylum seeker in a church and dies for it.
I wrote about it in this review from October, my most read ever because of its resonance with today.
While trampling laws to enact his genocidal, rapist will, he attacks an asylum seeker in a church and dies for it.
I wrote about it in this review from October, my most read ever because of its resonance with today.
February 2, 2026 at 10:38 PM
Do we recall how Judge Frollo dies in The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996)?
While trampling laws to enact his genocidal, rapist will, he attacks an asylum seeker in a church and dies for it.
I wrote about it in this review from October, my most read ever because of its resonance with today.
While trampling laws to enact his genocidal, rapist will, he attacks an asylum seeker in a church and dies for it.
I wrote about it in this review from October, my most read ever because of its resonance with today.
Every day I get to share something that reminds me of why & how I AmericanStudy, but today was one of those days where the cup really runneth over. So I wanted to reflect on the quartet of public scholarly pieces I got to share today, & what they help me remember & highlight in this work. 🗃️ +
February 2, 2026 at 9:35 PM
Every day I get to share something that reminds me of why & how I AmericanStudy, but today was one of those days where the cup really runneth over. So I wanted to reflect on the quartet of public scholarly pieces I got to share today, & what they help me remember & highlight in this work. 🗃️ +
200 years ago Wednesday, James Fenimore Cooper published The Last of the Mohicans. Ever since Mark Twain came at his "Literary Offences," Cooper's gotten a bad rap, & he's not much read here in the 21C. But while his prose is a lot (it was the early 19C!), his novels still have a lot to tell us. +
February 2, 2026 at 5:59 PM
200 years ago Wednesday, James Fenimore Cooper published The Last of the Mohicans. Ever since Mark Twain came at his "Literary Offences," Cooper's gotten a bad rap, & he's not much read here in the 21C. But while his prose is a lot (it was the early 19C!), his novels still have a lot to tell us. +
@drsepinwall.bsky.social, would you be able to share the new column as well, to help get it to your followers? Thanks!
bsky.app/profile/amer...
bsky.app/profile/amer...
So for my latest @satevepost.bsky.social Considering History column, a #BHM special on Minnesota's foundational Black histories, white supremacy, & America's defining diversity! 🗃️
www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2026/02/cons...
www.saturdayeveningpost.com/2026/02/cons...
Considering History: Minnesota’s Black History and America’s Defining Diversity | The Saturday Evening Post
Minnesota’s African American history highlights how much the state has always embodied diversity and the ongoing challenge of living up to our ideals of equality and justice for all.
www.saturdayeveningpost.com
February 2, 2026 at 4:15 PM
@drsepinwall.bsky.social, would you be able to share the new column as well, to help get it to your followers? Thanks!
bsky.app/profile/amer...
bsky.app/profile/amer...
No setting embodies America in Feb 2026 more than Minnesota. Much of what's happening there might feel strikingly contemporary, driven by changing late 20C & early 21C realities, from newer immigrant communities to our current fascist regime. But MN Black history tells a far different story. +
February 2, 2026 at 4:06 PM
No setting embodies America in Feb 2026 more than Minnesota. Much of what's happening there might feel strikingly contemporary, driven by changing late 20C & early 21C realities, from newer immigrant communities to our current fascist regime. But MN Black history tells a far different story. +
This Opening Day, keep an eye out for the First Inning of Diamond in the Rough: Baseball, Bigotry, and the Battle for America, Season Two! 🗃️
americanstudier.podbean.com/e/trailer-17...
americanstudier.podbean.com/e/trailer-17...
Trailer | Diamond in the Rough
Diamond in the Rough: Baseball, Bigotry, and the Battle for America, Season 2.
americanstudier.podbean.com
February 2, 2026 at 2:58 PM
This Opening Day, keep an eye out for the First Inning of Diamond in the Rough: Baseball, Bigotry, and the Battle for America, Season Two! 🗃️
americanstudier.podbean.com/e/trailer-17...
americanstudier.podbean.com/e/trailer-17...
Reposted by Ben Railton
As I mentioned in today’s #ScholarSunday thread, today is the birthday of the legendary Langston Hughes. There’s no better Memory Day Nominee with whom to begin Black History Month, for two very important reasons about which I want to say a bit. + 🗃️
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/february-n...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/february-n...
February Nominees
February 1: Langston Hughes , one of America’s most talented poets and writers , and the only one equally adept writing about himself , ent...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com
February 1, 2026 at 6:47 PM
As I mentioned in today’s #ScholarSunday thread, today is the birthday of the legendary Langston Hughes. There’s no better Memory Day Nominee with whom to begin Black History Month, for two very important reasons about which I want to say a bit. + 🗃️
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/february-n...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/february-n...
Once more before Sunday ends, here’s today’s thread. Please share widely to get all this great work to all the folks who need to see it and hear it and connect with it this February 1. 🗃️ @hcrichardson.bsky.social
As we begin this fraught & crucial Black History Month, & amidst every damn thing else, #ScholarSunday threads carry on—here’s my 261st of public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming books from last week. Add more below, share widely, & enjoy, all! 🗃️
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
#ScholarSunday Thread 261 (2/1/26) – Black and White and Read All Over
As we begin this most fraught & most important Black History Month, & amidst every damn thing else, #ScholarSunday threads carry on—here’s my 261st of great public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & f...
blackwhiteandread.com
February 2, 2026 at 2:31 AM
Once more before Sunday ends, here’s today’s thread. Please share widely to get all this great work to all the folks who need to see it and hear it and connect with it this February 1. 🗃️ @hcrichardson.bsky.social
Reposted by Ben Railton
As we begin this fraught & crucial Black History Month, & amidst every damn thing else, #ScholarSunday threads carry on—here’s my 261st of public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming books from last week. Add more below, share widely, & enjoy, all! 🗃️
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
#ScholarSunday Thread 261 (2/1/26) – Black and White and Read All Over
As we begin this most fraught & most important Black History Month, & amidst every damn thing else, #ScholarSunday threads carry on—here’s my 261st of great public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & f...
blackwhiteandread.com
February 1, 2026 at 12:57 PM
As we begin this fraught & crucial Black History Month, & amidst every damn thing else, #ScholarSunday threads carry on—here’s my 261st of public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming books from last week. Add more below, share widely, & enjoy, all! 🗃️
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
Reposted by Ben Railton
Also, I only mentioned it briefly, but the fictional Right Hand group in this episode certainly presages a lot of the aesthetics of ICE and "operator culture", and it was revealed after we recorded that agents were allegedly leaving "death cards", which we do discuss. www.axios.com/local/denver...
February 1, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Also, I only mentioned it briefly, but the fictional Right Hand group in this episode certainly presages a lot of the aesthetics of ICE and "operator culture", and it was revealed after we recorded that agents were allegedly leaving "death cards", which we do discuss. www.axios.com/local/denver...
As I mentioned in today’s #ScholarSunday thread, today is the birthday of the legendary Langston Hughes. There’s no better Memory Day Nominee with whom to begin Black History Month, for two very important reasons about which I want to say a bit. + 🗃️
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/february-n...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/february-n...
February Nominees
February 1: Langston Hughes , one of America’s most talented poets and writers , and the only one equally adept writing about himself , ent...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com
February 1, 2026 at 6:47 PM
As I mentioned in today’s #ScholarSunday thread, today is the birthday of the legendary Langston Hughes. There’s no better Memory Day Nominee with whom to begin Black History Month, for two very important reasons about which I want to say a bit. + 🗃️
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/february-n...
memorydaycalendar.blogspot.com/p/february-n...
@joshshepperd.bsky.social, would you be able to share the thread as well, to get all this great work to your followers? Thanks!
bsky.app/profile/amer...
bsky.app/profile/amer...
As we begin this fraught & crucial Black History Month, & amidst every damn thing else, #ScholarSunday threads carry on—here’s my 261st of public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming books from last week. Add more below, share widely, & enjoy, all! 🗃️
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
#ScholarSunday Thread 261 (2/1/26) – Black and White and Read All Over
As we begin this most fraught & most important Black History Month, & amidst every damn thing else, #ScholarSunday threads carry on—here’s my 261st of great public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & f...
blackwhiteandread.com
February 1, 2026 at 6:31 PM
@joshshepperd.bsky.social, would you be able to share the thread as well, to get all this great work to your followers? Thanks!
bsky.app/profile/amer...
bsky.app/profile/amer...
This is who runs this account
February 1, 2026 at 6:28 PM
This is who runs this account
@kimkelly.bsky.social, would you be able to share the thread as well, to get all that great work to your followers? Thanks!
bsky.app/profile/amer...
bsky.app/profile/amer...
As we begin this fraught & crucial Black History Month, & amidst every damn thing else, #ScholarSunday threads carry on—here’s my 261st of public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming books from last week. Add more below, share widely, & enjoy, all! 🗃️
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
#ScholarSunday Thread 261 (2/1/26) – Black and White and Read All Over
As we begin this most fraught & most important Black History Month, & amidst every damn thing else, #ScholarSunday threads carry on—here’s my 261st of great public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & f...
blackwhiteandread.com
February 1, 2026 at 6:13 PM
@kimkelly.bsky.social, would you be able to share the thread as well, to get all that great work to your followers? Thanks!
bsky.app/profile/amer...
bsky.app/profile/amer...
Here’s today’s thread for your brunch accompaniment. Please share all this tasty scholarly sustenance widely, thanks! 🗃️ @jbf1755.bsky.social
As we begin this fraught & crucial Black History Month, & amidst every damn thing else, #ScholarSunday threads carry on—here’s my 261st of public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & forthcoming books from last week. Add more below, share widely, & enjoy, all! 🗃️
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
blackwhiteandread.com/scholarsunda...
#ScholarSunday Thread 261 (2/1/26) – Black and White and Read All Over
As we begin this most fraught & most important Black History Month, & amidst every damn thing else, #ScholarSunday threads carry on—here’s my 261st of great public scholarly writing, podcasts, new & f...
blackwhiteandread.com
February 1, 2026 at 5:34 PM
Here’s today’s thread for your brunch accompaniment. Please share all this tasty scholarly sustenance widely, thanks! 🗃️ @jbf1755.bsky.social