David Blight is a leading expert on the life and writings of Frederick Douglass and on the Civil War in historical memory. His book Frederick Douglass's Civil War (1989), and his edition of Douglass's Narrative and W.E.B. Du Bois's Souls of Black Folk are widely taught in college courses. Blight has appeared in several PBS films about African American history and works extensively with museums and other public history projects. His most recent work, Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory, 1863-1915 (2001), won a half-dozen prizes, including four from OAH.

Lecture topics:

• Frederick Douglass and the Meaning of the Civil War
• Race and Reunion: The Civil War in American Memory
• Blue, Gray and Black: The Origins of Memorial Day, 1865-1885
• The Study of Historical Memory: Why, and Why Now?

Viewed Friday, November 20, 2009