Matt Nichter
@mfnich.bsky.social
190 followers 580 following 16 posts
historical sociologist. nothing human is foreign. fight the powers that be. views my own. articles: http://tinyurl.com/2r6zmzzh, http://tinyurl.com/5ahty56u
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mfnich.bsky.social
I look forward to meeting you at the conference, Andrew
mfnich.bsky.social
Ann Fagan Ginger, presente!
mfnich.bsky.social
Ann Fagan Ginger wrote or edited more than 20 books.

I learned a lot about repression and resistance during the McCarthy era from her The Cold War Against Labor (2 vols., co-edited with David Christiano)

archive.org/details/thec...
archive.org/details/cold...
The Cold War Against Labor Volume One : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive
An anthology edited by Ann Fagan Ginger and David Christiano
archive.org
mfnich.bsky.social
In 2001, Ann pressured Harvard University to finally acknowledge firing her first husband, the historian Ray Ginger, for his refusal to comply with Massachusetts' "un-American activities" board in 1954.
Harvard Admits Role in Forced Resignation | News | The Harvard Crimson
In an unusually strong demonstration of McCarthyism at Harvard, a top university official has admitted that Harvard forced a leftist
www.thecrimson.com
mfnich.bsky.social
When the Berkeley Free Speech Movement erupted in October 1964, Ann spoke from atop the police car that students had surrounded in Sproul Plaza, affirming their right to assemble there.
mfnich.bsky.social
"At 100, Ms. Ginger was among the last of a generation of lawyers and activists who weathered McCarthyism and the Red Scare, and then helped train a new cohort during the 1960s and after." 🧵
Ann Fagan Ginger, Tireless Defender of Civil Liberties, Dies at 100
www.nytimes.com
mfnich.bsky.social
I do have some doubts about its accuracy, because King's college transcript doesn't list the professors' names, and Morehouse allowed students to take "exchange" classes at other HBCUs in Atlanta

dcir-prod.auc.dgicloud.com/morehouse-co...
dcir-prod.auc.dgicloud.com
mfnich.bsky.social
below are King's courses at Morehouse, according to the King papers project, which triangulated using several sources
mfnich.bsky.social
Walter Chivers was the only Sociology professor at Morehouse, until King's senior year
mfnich.bsky.social
in those days, the typical Morehouse student took 5 classes per semester, and a major required 8-10 classes
mfnich.bsky.social
having said that, the targets of state repression are much broader now than during the McCarthy era
mfnich.bsky.social
at the local level, McCarthyite hysteria also fueled gigantic riots targeting the left and African Americans, most famously at Peekskill, but also in major cities like Pittsburgh and Chicago
Reposted by Matt Nichter
itsmccarthy.bsky.social
Our political discourse pits identity politics against economic populism. But the choice is false and contributes to incredible confusion about the working class across the political spectrum. For @hammerandhope.bsky.social I show why and sketch an alternative (sorry to crosspost):
Reposted by Matt Nichter
josephamccartin.bsky.social
July 5 marked the 90th anniversary of the signing of the National Labor Relations (Wagner) Act. There are important lessons to be taken from the sorry state of this aged labor law. One is that labor law reform will not rescue unions. Only union struggles can do that.
prospect.org/labor/2025-0...
Requiem for the Wagner Act
Signed into law 90 years ago, labor’s onetime ‘magna carta’ is now a very dead letter.
prospect.org
Reposted by Matt Nichter
jeannetheoharis.bsky.social
Thanks @thenation.com for understanding the importance of learning the actual lessons from Martin and Coretta Scott King for this Juneteenth, how much he is distorted in public discourse, and what they give us for our struggles today: www.thenation.com/article/acti...
5 Lessons From the Real Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
This Juneteenth we need to discard the caricatures of King that we so often see and learn from what he actually did and believed.
www.thenation.com
mfnich.bsky.social
extra butter please 🍿