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Jill Watts

@jillwatts.bsky.social
302 followers 277 following 43 posts

Historian. Professor. Author of The Black Cabinet and biographies of Hattie McDaniel, Mae West, and Father Divine. Working on a biography of Mary McLeod Bethune. jill-watts.com

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Reposted by Jill Watts
Classic Movie Hub @classicmoviehub.bsky.social · 19/04/2026
99 years ago today, on April 19, 1927, Mae West was found guilty of obscenity for her Broadway play "Sex." She was sentenced to 10 days in jail (serving 8) and fined $500—the scandal generated headlines across the country and helped launch her Hollywood career. #otd
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Capitol Hill Bill @capitolhillbill.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
A Republic...if you can keep it. Benjamin Franklin, 1787
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Brendan #NoKings @brendanvonbon.bsky.social · 25/06/2025
@altnatarchives.altgov.info 🛑 RESTRICTED ACCESS The National Archives at College Park is about to go dark; effective July 7, it’s becoming a restricted-access federal facility, meaning everyday Americans will no longer have public access to the very records that hold our government accountable. 🧵/1
Restricted-Access Federal
Facility, Effective July 7, 2025
Effective July 7, 2025, the National Archives at College Park, MD, will become a restricted-access federal facility with access only for visitors with a legitimate business need. It will no longer be open to the general public. Security officers will enforce these restrictions, and your cooperation is appreciated.
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Silverneurotic @silver-neurotic.bsky.social · 02/06/2025
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I Quit Smoking 🚭 📚 🐕 @iquitcigs.bsky.social · 07/06/2025
Happy #Caturday 🐈
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Anise K. Strong @anisekstrong.bsky.social · 03/04/2025
I just got confirmation that National History Day, a program that does more to ignite K-12 students' love of history, learning, and yes, even the United States than anything else I've ever seen, had all its funding cut yesterday by the DOGE-axe at the NEH - including for this year's ongoing contest.
A National History Day display: "Alice Paul: How She Rocked the Vote," from the 2020 contest.A National History Day display: "D-Day: How the Allies Broke Hitler's Atlantic Barrier, from March 2020, SW Michigan regional competition.
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Project POTUS Pages @potus-pages.bsky.social · 30/03/2025
Gave my home page a little refresh. Check it out: www.potuspages.com
potuspages.com
Project POTUS Pages - Presidential trivia and doodles
Follow along as presidential doodler Heather Rogers brings the book percolating in her head to life
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Safiya Umoja Noble, PhD @safiyanoble.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Today!!!
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Still We Rise @lindsaymeyerharley.bsky.social · 23/02/2025
"We know exactly what to do. We use our power-we organize, mobilize, we educate and we advocate." Kamala Harris at the #NAACPImageAwards this evening
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Project POTUS Pages @potus-pages.bsky.social · 21/02/2025
Fun with Roosevelts! 🤓
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Jill Watts @jillwatts.bsky.social · 19/02/2025
Episode Four of Great Migrations on PBS tonight. Watch all four on the PBS site. www.pbs.org/show/great-m...
pbs.org
Great Migrations: A People on The Move
Great Migrations explores how a series of Black migrations have shaped America.
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Safiya Umoja Noble, PhD @safiyanoble.bsky.social · 16/02/2025
In case you missed it: “social justice” and “equity” now interpreted as illegal in education under this far-right U.S. administration. We are experiencing the rollback of civil rights protection that only lasted two generations in American history. www.ed.gov/media/docume...
ed.gov
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Jill Watts @jillwatts.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
Happy Valentine's Day from DOGEhttps://www.doge.gov/savings
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Project POTUS Pages @potus-pages.bsky.social · 12/02/2025
Happy birthday, #AbeLincoln! (Did you know the man in the Emancipation statue, Archer Alexander, was Muhammed Ali's great-great-great grandfather? Also, he warned the Union Army that his enslaver planned to destroy an important bridge.)
Emancipation statue, with Abraham Lincoln and Archer Alexander. Alexander escaped enslavement and warned the Union that his enslaver planned to destroy an important bridge.
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Jill Watts @jillwatts.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Great Migrations: Episode Three--reverse migration back to the South. (Time magazine named it among the best TV Shows in January) time.com/7211890/best...
time.com
The Best New TV Shows of January 2025
From 'The Pitt' to 'Asura'
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Judith Weisenfeld @jlweisenfeld.bsky.social · 07/02/2025
Thanks for the plug! We are so grateful for the support of the Henry Luce Foundation and Princeton University, which makes our work possible at @xroadproj.bsky.social.
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Jill Watts @jillwatts.bsky.social · 05/02/2025
Great Migrations episodes 1 and 2 are streaming on PBS for free. Check them out. www.pbs.org/show/great-m...
pbs.org
Great Migrations: A People on The Move
Great Migrations explores how a series of Black migrations have shaped America.
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Jill Watts @jillwatts.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
Great Migrations Episode 2 on tonight! You'll hear about westward migration and California. www.pbssocal.org/shows/great-...
pbssocal.org
Westward Migration
The second wave of the great migration saw people traveling to the West,
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Jill Watts @jillwatts.bsky.social · 03/02/2025
Searching for quiet inspiration and assurance today. Remembering Phillis Wheatley on freedom and tyranny. Link to the full poem in comments. #BlackHistoryMonth #PhillisWheatley
Wonder from whence my love of Freedom sprung,
  Whence flow these wishes for the common good,
  By feeling hearts alone best understood,
  I, young in life, by seeming cruel fate
  Was snatch’d from Afric’s fancy’d happy seat:
  What pangs excruciating must molest,
  What sorrows labour in my parent’s breast?
  Steel’d was that soul and by no misery mov’d
  That from a father seiz’d his babe belov’d:
  Such, such my case.  And can I then but pray
  Others may never feel tyrannic sway?
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Project POTUS Pages @potus-pages.bsky.social · 02/02/2025
"Democracy... cannot flourish amid fear. Liberty cannot bloom amid hate. Justice cannot take root amid rage. America must get to work... We must dissent from indifference... we must dissent from the fear, the hatred, and the mistrust." Thurgood Marshall
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Joy-Ann Reid @joyannreid.bsky.social · 01/02/2025
Happy Black History Month, and yeah, we're still doing that.
media.tenor.com
a drawing of a fist with a purple bracelet around it
ALT: a drawing of a fist with a purple bracelet around it
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Jill Watts @jillwatts.bsky.social · 28/01/2025
I am so excited to have the opportunity to be a part of Great Migrations: A People on the Move which covers the history of Black American migration. Please tune in to the four part series. Starts tomorrow might on PBS. Continues throughout Black History Month! www.youtube.com/watch?v=bV9Z...
youtube.com
SNEAK PEEK | Great Migrations: A People on the Move
YouTube video by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.
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Capitol Hill Bill @capitolhillbill.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president. Theodore Roosevelt 26th U.S. President 1901 - 1909
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@LAhistory @lahistory.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
Jan 25 at 12pm: Friends Of Residential Treasures: LA [FORT: LA] is hosting "The Heart of LA: Memory, Resilience and the Road to Recovery" at the Helms Design Center -> givebutter.com/HeartofLA #LAFires
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Marcia K Hales @marcia-k-hales.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
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Beacon Press @beaconpress.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
Dana Frank writes that the big, timely message from the New Deal is that “recovery is a complex and painful process that requires the participation of many, not directives from a few.” This message speaks to us now. @counterpunchmedia.bsky.social
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Report from a Campfire of the Resistance, San Francisco 2024
The dust had not yet settled around the White House and the foul air had not yet cleared from above the nation’s capital, but the campfires of the
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Tananarive Due - The Reformatory @tananarivedue.bsky.social · 12/01/2025
Octavia's Bookshelf owner Nikki High doesn’t know the state of her own house in Altadena — most houses burned — but she's turned her Pasadena bookstore into a help center for fire victims. Follow the IG/Threads accounts for updates. They still need first aid kits. We also brought bottled water.
Tananarive in front of donations at Octavia's Bookshelf with store owner Nikki High.
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Jill Watts @jillwatts.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
Tonight So Cal sunset
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Harvey J Kaye @harveyjkaye.bsky.social · 05/01/2025
On Monday we see the 84th anniversary of #FDR’s #SOTU address pronouncing a vision of America committed to the #FourFreedoms: Freedom of speech & expression Freedom of worship Freedom from want Freedom from fear
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Judith Weisenfeld @jlweisenfeld.bsky.social · 30/12/2024
Coming April 29, 2025 and available for pre-order, with 30% off (use code NYUAU30) when ordering from @nyupress.bsky.social. nyupress.org/978147982978...
Cover image: Judith Weisenfeld, Black Religion in the Madhouse: Race and Psychiatry in Slavery's Wake. NYU Press. Save 30% when you use code NYUAU30 on checkout at nyupress.org.
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Jill Watts @jillwatts.bsky.social · 25/12/2024
History and Film folks— @daveyh39.bsky.social does great film history posts! Give him a follow for the holidays!
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WuTangIsForTheChildren @wutangforchildren.bsky.social · 24/12/2024
You’re the US Marines band at the White House and Mavis Staples 👑 walks into the room so you start playing "I’ll Take You There" and this happens👇
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Harvey J Kaye @harveyjkaye.bsky.social · 24/12/2024
For all their faults, FDR and the Greatest Generation showed us how to beat Depression and Fascism - make America freer, more equal, more democratic!
For all their faults, FDR and the Greatest Generation showed us how to beat Depression and Fascism - make America freer, more equal, more democratic!
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Jill Watts @jillwatts.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
So grateful to have a chance to talk about The Black Cabinet with writer Rachelle Chase on her podcast. Give a listen to her entire series on important books for the current times. #NewDeal #BlackHistory #FDR open.spotify.com/episode/6vG7...
open.spotify.com
04: The Untold Story Behind the New Deal: The Black Cabinet with Jill Watts
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American Association for State and Local History @aaslh.org · 19/12/2024
How many times do we unintentionally exclude older adults from conversations or assume they're not interested in trying new things? Elders are creators, innovators, and contributors. Museums can and should lead the way in changing this narrative.
museum.industry411.com
Engaging Older Adults: Successful Museum Programs That Combat Social Isolation and Ageism - Museum 411
We’re at the point where older adults — ages 65 and up — are becoming one of the largest demographics in the U.S. By 2035, there will be more seniors than children under 18 for the first time in U.S. history.¹ Remember last year when the surgeon general reported that social isolation can be as harmful […]
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Gabino Iglesias @gabino.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
Writing is an act of rebellion. Writing is an act of creation. Writing is an act of salvation. Writing is an act of exploration. Writing is an act of emotion. Writing is an act of confession. Writing is an act of speculation. Writing is an act of reflection. Keep writing.
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pam lach @plach.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
I created a starter pack for folks who work in and/or are interested in the intersection of #DigitalHumanities and #libraries. Happy to add folks! go.bsky.app/Fg9dqjc
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Capitol Hill Bill @capitolhillbill.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
Unless the people, through unified action, arise and take charge of their government, they will find that their government has taken charge of them. Calvin Coolidge U.S. President 1923 - 1929
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Dr. Susan Liebell @drsusanliebell.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
Your Monday podcast is my conversation with @caseydominguez.bsky.social on her remarkably relevant and powerful book from @univpressofkansas.bsky.social "Commander in Chief: Partisanship, Nationalism, and the Reconstruction of Congressional War Powers." newbooksnetwork.com/commander-in...
Small white dog is sitting with the book on a dog bed.
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Jill Watts @jillwatts.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
I am happy to share the talk I gave at the FDR Library's reading festival on the Black Cabinet during the Roosevelt years and Mary McLeod Bethune. Grateful to the @paulsparrowfdr.bsky.social, BookTV, and the Library for the opportunity. www.c-span.org/video/?52896...
c-span.org
<em>The Black Cabinet</em>
Jill Watts recalled the members of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's "Black brain trust" and their influence on administration policies. She spoke at the 2023 Roosevelt Reading Festival, hosted by the Frank...
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Dr. Susan Liebell @drsusanliebell.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
It would be nice to have a Secretary of the Defense who has read the amendments to the Constitution -- all of the First Amendment in particular...like freedom of the press and no establishment of religion. Jesus has nothing to do with being Secretary of Defense.
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Nathan Ellstrand @nellstra.bsky.social · 24/11/2024
Attention scholars of Religious Studies @aarweb.bsky.social #SBLAAR24 #AARSBL24
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Jill Watts @jillwatts.bsky.social · 22/11/2024
Searching for pals from the other platforms or folks with similar interests. U.S. History and I work on FDR, Black Politics, the New Deal, Film, and the Great Depression among other things. Writing a biography of Mary McLeod Bethune. Faith in democracy.
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Digital History at Clemson @clemsondh.bsky.social · 20/11/2024
Clemson’s Digital History PhD program offers faculty who can advise students in fields like 19th & 20th century U.S. history, Colonialism & Empire, Women, Gender & Sexuality, and the U.S. South. Join us to explore history through digital innovation! 📅 Apply by Dec 1!
buff.ly
Faculty Expertise By Field
Clemson University is a leading public research institution located in Upstate South Carolina. Here, researchers create solutions that change the world.
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Jay 🦋 @jay.bsky.team · 19/11/2024
6. Custom feeds on Bluesky are the first implementation of algorithmic choice. Instead of using a single black-box For You algorithm, you can create and subscribe to your own. Now, there are over 50k+ custom feeds on the network! Check them out: bsky.app/feeds
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Paul Sparrow @paulsparrowfdr.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
I am currently shamelessly promoting my book, Awakening The Spirit of America: FDR’s War of Words with Charles Lindbergh and the Battle to Save Democracy. Also looking for other history nerds.
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Amanda Regan, Ph.D. @regan008.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
Clemson is recruiting students for Fall 2025. Our Ph.D. has been designed w/ career diversity in mind & offers an innovative digital curriculum while maintaining a commitment to rigorous historical scholarship. Competitive funding too. Deadline is Dec 1st for Fall 2025. Happy to answer questions!
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Jill Watts @jillwatts.bsky.social · 18/11/2024
"Our children must never lose their zeal for building a better world." #MaryMcLeodBethune, "My Last Will and Testament." Hello #Bluesky
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