Earlie Thorpe and the Struggle for Black History, 1949–1989

Abstract

During the mid-twentieth century, historian Earlie Thorpe (1924–1989) devoted his life to the study and dissemination of African American history. In doing so, he joined other Black historians who surmounted obstacles that circumscribed their opportunities to research and publish, and who ensured that white scholars would not solely define the history of African Americans. Through the publication of seminal works on Black historians, Black intellectual history, and psychohistory, his teaching of Black history at Black and white universities, and his leadership of the Association for the Study of Afro-American Life and History, Thorpe helped propel African American history into the mainstream of academia.