Nicholas Mitchell
@nicholasemitchell.bsky.social
Aging afropunk, Southerner, Curriculum theorist, Af. Am. Studies, Bigotry researcher, Essayist, Author, Professional Wrestling Enthusiast.
My posts represent my views and not my employer.
Reposts do not = endorsements.
My posts represent my views and not my employer.
Reposts do not = endorsements.
Pinned
On Bigotry
We like to believe that bigotry is a product of ignorance and that if we educate people enough, they will become immune to bigotry. But what if bigotry isn't a…
www.bloomsbury.com
My first book, "On Bigotry: Twenty Lessons on How Bigotry Works and What to Do About It" came out a week ago and is now available in hardcover and e-book edition with an audiobook version coming out in August!
#booksky
www.bloomsbury.com/us/on-bigotr...
#booksky
www.bloomsbury.com/us/on-bigotr...
I got to check off a big box on my career wish list.
I did an interview with @npr.org It's been a minute about fascism.
www.npr.org/2025/11/10/n...
I did an interview with @npr.org It's been a minute about fascism.
www.npr.org/2025/11/10/n...
How 'Fascism' became a meme : It's Been a Minute
The word "fascism" is being thrown around a lot right now. Does it capture our current cultural and political moment?Nearly 50% of Americans have associated President Trump with "fascism." Trump himse...
www.npr.org
November 11, 2025 at 5:06 PM
I got to check off a big box on my career wish list.
I did an interview with @npr.org It's been a minute about fascism.
www.npr.org/2025/11/10/n...
I did an interview with @npr.org It's been a minute about fascism.
www.npr.org/2025/11/10/n...
Adding this to my required readings when I cover politics.
My question for Dr. Jefferson: Do you think that Black American culture has a different definition of conservative compared to the canonical one that influences the low correlations?
My question for Dr. Jefferson: Do you think that Black American culture has a different definition of conservative compared to the canonical one that influences the low correlations?
Excellent write-up from my friends at @stanfordcddrl.bsky.social—my second home—on my article in @poqjournal.bsky.social that questions the validity of the canonical liberal–conservative measure for studying Black Americans’ political attitudes and behavior.
cddrl.fsi.stanford.edu/news/black-c...
cddrl.fsi.stanford.edu/news/black-c...
‘Black Conservatism’ and Familiarity with Ideological Concepts
CDDRL Research-in-Brief [4.5-minute read]
cddrl.fsi.stanford.edu
November 9, 2025 at 6:43 PM
Adding this to my required readings when I cover politics.
My question for Dr. Jefferson: Do you think that Black American culture has a different definition of conservative compared to the canonical one that influences the low correlations?
My question for Dr. Jefferson: Do you think that Black American culture has a different definition of conservative compared to the canonical one that influences the low correlations?
Bigotry corrupts everything it touches.
This includes ideologies, political parties, institutions, and communities.
Without exception, every entity that has tried to harness Bigotry for their own ends inevitably get taken over by bigots or implode under the strain of driving them out.
This includes ideologies, political parties, institutions, and communities.
Without exception, every entity that has tried to harness Bigotry for their own ends inevitably get taken over by bigots or implode under the strain of driving them out.
November 4, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Bigotry corrupts everything it touches.
This includes ideologies, political parties, institutions, and communities.
Without exception, every entity that has tried to harness Bigotry for their own ends inevitably get taken over by bigots or implode under the strain of driving them out.
This includes ideologies, political parties, institutions, and communities.
Without exception, every entity that has tried to harness Bigotry for their own ends inevitably get taken over by bigots or implode under the strain of driving them out.
It was inevitable that the left side of the political spectrum fight over "economic populism" vs "identity politics" was going to spill over into the actual political arena and how the political coalition holds or breaks.
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com
“Why do so many people feel the need to work so hard to redeem a man who had a Nazi tattoo?” our columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom writes.
“Why do so many people feel the need to work so hard to redeem a man who had a Nazi tattoo?” our columnist Tressie McMillan Cottom writes.
Opinion | A Nazi Tattoo Exposes Democrats’ Greatest Weakness
Do Democrats know what the working class actually looks like?
nyti.ms
October 30, 2025 at 11:04 PM
It was inevitable that the left side of the political spectrum fight over "economic populism" vs "identity politics" was going to spill over into the actual political arena and how the political coalition holds or breaks.
2 questions for @mattyglesias.bsky.social
Which civil rights are you willing to burn to recruit & keep bigots in the tent?
What happens when the only people left in the tent are bigots after the anti-bigots & the victims of compromises with bigots bail?
www.theargumentmag.com/p/bigots-in-...
Which civil rights are you willing to burn to recruit & keep bigots in the tent?
What happens when the only people left in the tent are bigots after the anti-bigots & the victims of compromises with bigots bail?
www.theargumentmag.com/p/bigots-in-...
Bigots in the tent
What did you think winning meant? vibes? papers? essays? losers.
www.theargumentmag.com
October 24, 2025 at 12:57 PM
2 questions for @mattyglesias.bsky.social
Which civil rights are you willing to burn to recruit & keep bigots in the tent?
What happens when the only people left in the tent are bigots after the anti-bigots & the victims of compromises with bigots bail?
www.theargumentmag.com/p/bigots-in-...
Which civil rights are you willing to burn to recruit & keep bigots in the tent?
What happens when the only people left in the tent are bigots after the anti-bigots & the victims of compromises with bigots bail?
www.theargumentmag.com/p/bigots-in-...
YEP.
An actual hot take: Too many authors are afraid of editors watering down their voice or whatever and not afraid enough of editors letting you put any old slop on the page.
October 9, 2025 at 12:36 AM
YEP.
If we go with the pop cultural definition of working class, which excludes post secondary education credentials, then every single trade school/vote graduate is not working class.
the going definition of "working class" seems to be whether or not one went to college. look I know we're not going to agree on here about what "working-class" is but can we all agree it's not that?
Trump’s 2024 coalition has already fallen apart. Polls show Trump has lost the young, Black, and Latino supporters he attracted in 2024, leaving him with the same old white working-class base.
October 2, 2025 at 7:18 PM
If we go with the pop cultural definition of working class, which excludes post secondary education credentials, then every single trade school/vote graduate is not working class.
Noah is correct here with bigotry.
People are more comfortable labeling bigots are ignorant than immoral because labeling something immoral requires direct opposition which is uncomfortable.
Ignorance simply requires instruction to be fixed.
People are more comfortable labeling bigots are ignorant than immoral because labeling something immoral requires direct opposition which is uncomfortable.
Ignorance simply requires instruction to be fixed.
for various reasons we're more comfortable labeling people as unintelligent than evil, and so we tend to assume the first causes the second but again that's mostly backwards.
October 2, 2025 at 5:35 PM
Noah is correct here with bigotry.
People are more comfortable labeling bigots are ignorant than immoral because labeling something immoral requires direct opposition which is uncomfortable.
Ignorance simply requires instruction to be fixed.
People are more comfortable labeling bigots are ignorant than immoral because labeling something immoral requires direct opposition which is uncomfortable.
Ignorance simply requires instruction to be fixed.
I did my first international public lecture about my book last week!
Special thanks to @bloomsburyacad.bsky.social for making the lecture and the book happen.
If you have an hour, check it out
"Hate is who I am: Bigotry as Identity Politics."
youtu.be/ypUKujG_c1w?...
Special thanks to @bloomsburyacad.bsky.social for making the lecture and the book happen.
If you have an hour, check it out
"Hate is who I am: Bigotry as Identity Politics."
youtu.be/ypUKujG_c1w?...
Bloomsbury Lecture-Nicholas Ensley Mitchell
YouTube video by Bloomsbury Academic
youtu.be
September 29, 2025 at 4:16 PM
I did my first international public lecture about my book last week!
Special thanks to @bloomsburyacad.bsky.social for making the lecture and the book happen.
If you have an hour, check it out
"Hate is who I am: Bigotry as Identity Politics."
youtu.be/ypUKujG_c1w?...
Special thanks to @bloomsburyacad.bsky.social for making the lecture and the book happen.
If you have an hour, check it out
"Hate is who I am: Bigotry as Identity Politics."
youtu.be/ypUKujG_c1w?...
I'm honored to be a part of the Bloomsbury lecture series.
I wrote On Bigotry for times like these and until we confront that bigotry is more than simple ignorance, we will never escape the shadow it casts over everything.
#academicsky
#booksky
#academia
#racism
#bigotry
I wrote On Bigotry for times like these and until we confront that bigotry is more than simple ignorance, we will never escape the shadow it casts over everything.
#academicsky
#booksky
#academia
#racism
#bigotry
Join us on Thursday 25 September for the next Bloomsbury Lecture, as Nicholas Ensley Mitchell explores how bigotry acts as an identity and a form of identity politics.
Sign up here: zoom.us/webinar/regi...
Sign up here: zoom.us/webinar/regi...
September 21, 2025 at 2:51 PM
I'm honored to be a part of the Bloomsbury lecture series.
I wrote On Bigotry for times like these and until we confront that bigotry is more than simple ignorance, we will never escape the shadow it casts over everything.
#academicsky
#booksky
#academia
#racism
#bigotry
I wrote On Bigotry for times like these and until we confront that bigotry is more than simple ignorance, we will never escape the shadow it casts over everything.
#academicsky
#booksky
#academia
#racism
#bigotry
Reposted by Nicholas Mitchell
Join us next Thursday, as Nicholas Ensley Mitchell talks about bigotry: how it works, how it spreads, and what we can do about it.
Register here:
https://bit.ly/42pc6bZ
Register here:
https://bit.ly/42pc6bZ
September 18, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Join us next Thursday, as Nicholas Ensley Mitchell talks about bigotry: how it works, how it spreads, and what we can do about it.
Register here:
https://bit.ly/42pc6bZ
Register here:
https://bit.ly/42pc6bZ
I wrote this book for times like this.
September 16, 2025 at 2:32 AM
I wrote this book for times like this.
Yeah, the first time I saw that I was cited in a book it freaked me out a little bit.
always a little pleasing/disorienting to see myself cited in a book I'm reading. 1
September 12, 2025 at 4:06 AM
Yeah, the first time I saw that I was cited in a book it freaked me out a little bit.
Wrote a whole book on why thinking bigotry is just people being uninformed is a mistake because it's deeper than that.
September 7, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Wrote a whole book on why thinking bigotry is just people being uninformed is a mistake because it's deeper than that.
Bigots cosplay their Bigotry as philosophy, concern, and science for a reason.
It works.
Wrote a book about it.
It works.
Wrote a book about it.
September 1, 2025 at 7:26 PM
Bigots cosplay their Bigotry as philosophy, concern, and science for a reason.
It works.
Wrote a book about it.
It works.
Wrote a book about it.
Any analysis of African American political and activist culture in the 21st century that leaves out the impact of Hurricane Katrina should not be taken seriously.
August 31, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Any analysis of African American political and activist culture in the 21st century that leaves out the impact of Hurricane Katrina should not be taken seriously.
Something that @jelaniya.bsky.social said that is true is how hurricane #Katrina had a similar impact on Black America that 9/11 did on the country as a whole.
It really changed how Black culture saw America & was the impetus for millennial Black activists to discover critical race theory.
It really changed how Black culture saw America & was the impetus for millennial Black activists to discover critical race theory.
August 29, 2025 at 7:43 PM
Something that @jelaniya.bsky.social said that is true is how hurricane #Katrina had a similar impact on Black America that 9/11 did on the country as a whole.
It really changed how Black culture saw America & was the impetus for millennial Black activists to discover critical race theory.
It really changed how Black culture saw America & was the impetus for millennial Black activists to discover critical race theory.
A theory: As a movement, wokeness was not destroyed by the right. Rather, the center left & left destroyed it because they did not want to be political accountable to woke folks who wanted to move away from class only politics.
@olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social does this pass muster in your view?
@olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social does this pass muster in your view?
August 26, 2025 at 4:26 PM
A theory: As a movement, wokeness was not destroyed by the right. Rather, the center left & left destroyed it because they did not want to be political accountable to woke folks who wanted to move away from class only politics.
@olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social does this pass muster in your view?
@olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social does this pass muster in your view?
It is astounding to see how many people have convinced themselves of the opposite but the statement " all politics is identity politics" is simply factual.
When you accept this, observing and studying politics becomes so much easier.
When you accept this, observing and studying politics becomes so much easier.
August 25, 2025 at 7:46 PM
It is astounding to see how many people have convinced themselves of the opposite but the statement " all politics is identity politics" is simply factual.
When you accept this, observing and studying politics becomes so much easier.
When you accept this, observing and studying politics becomes so much easier.
The audiobook book version of my first book "On Bigotry: Twenty lessons on how bigotry works and what to do about it" comes out on all audiobook platforms August 26th.
Narrated by me.
Narrated by me.
August 24, 2025 at 5:02 PM
The audiobook book version of my first book "On Bigotry: Twenty lessons on how bigotry works and what to do about it" comes out on all audiobook platforms August 26th.
Narrated by me.
Narrated by me.
I had history professors at my Southern University who would describe chattel slavery in all of its horror and students would cry and say "they had not been taught this before."
one extremely horrific aspect of slavery was systematic, vicious, constant rape and sexual abuse. there remain major taboos about talking about that, especially in schools or museums for all ages.
"How bad slavery was" is worse. Much worse. Much worse than you think, much worse than you're taught, much worse than museums depict. Worse.
August 19, 2025 at 10:30 PM
I had history professors at my Southern University who would describe chattel slavery in all of its horror and students would cry and say "they had not been taught this before."
A plain text description of the middle passage and chattel slavery reads like a horror movie.
I have never seen a museum or a history textbook do a plain text description.
I have never seen a museum or a history textbook do a plain text description.
"How bad slavery was" is worse. Much worse. Much worse than you think, much worse than you're taught, much worse than museums depict. Worse.
August 19, 2025 at 8:52 PM
A plain text description of the middle passage and chattel slavery reads like a horror movie.
I have never seen a museum or a history textbook do a plain text description.
I have never seen a museum or a history textbook do a plain text description.
As a southerner, I look at these images and they are unrecognizable as elite because, I think, respectability has a regional aspect that complicates how Blackness is understood internally. Dr. Jefferson raises the critical question: How does Black culture want to be seen by the world?
You can’t think of the Ralph Lauren Oak Bluffs line—or the Black folks who regularly visit Martha’s Vineyard—w/out thinking abt class, respectability, & abt what it means that so many are so eager to lean into this as the public representation of Blackness.
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/s...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/13/s...
Ralph Lauren, ‘The Gilded Age’ and Black Affluence
www.nytimes.com
August 14, 2025 at 7:51 PM
As a southerner, I look at these images and they are unrecognizable as elite because, I think, respectability has a regional aspect that complicates how Blackness is understood internally. Dr. Jefferson raises the critical question: How does Black culture want to be seen by the world?
I don't know when or why the idea of colorblind law became frowned upon in the world of critical thought....but I think we should take it back and rediscover the Houston-Pauli intellectual tradition.
#academicsky
#academicsky
August 12, 2025 at 1:09 AM
I don't know when or why the idea of colorblind law became frowned upon in the world of critical thought....but I think we should take it back and rediscover the Houston-Pauli intellectual tradition.
#academicsky
#academicsky
Bigotry is it's own political and economic ideology.
August 8, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Bigotry is it's own political and economic ideology.