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The Quixotic Crusade to Create an All-Black State in Oklahoma

Reposted by Caleb Gayle

Long Lead @longlead.com · Aug 20

In his new book, "Black Moses: A Saga of Ambition and the Fight for a Black State," journalist @calebgayle.bsky.social ‪continues his exploration of murky histories, reporting a story that doesn't have straightforward heroes or villains.

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Reposted by Caleb Gayle

Center for Transformative Media @nu-ctm.bsky.social · Aug 18

Congrats @calebgayle.bsky.social on getting a book reviewed by The New York Times!

Check it out here: www.nytimes.com/2025/08/15/b...

The Quixotic Crusade to Create an All-Black State in Oklahoma

Reposted by Caleb Gayle

Whitney Peeling @wpeeling.bsky.social · Aug 15

"Today, with the White House attempting to control discussion of African American history...BLACK MOSES is a useful reminder that for nearly a century after the Civil War, what was called democracy was indistinguishable from white power." @calebgayle.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/15/b...

The Quixotic Crusade to Create an All-Black State in Oklahoma

Caleb Gayle @calebgayle.bsky.social · Aug 18

Dream of a lifetime to have Greg Grandin call my work timely and useful. Raves like this come so seldom that you have to treasure it!

Whitney Peeling @wpeeling.bsky.social · Aug 15

"Today, with the White House attempting to control discussion of African American history...BLACK MOSES is a useful reminder that for nearly a century after the Civil War, what was called democracy was indistinguishable from white power." @calebgayle.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/15/b...

Reposted by Caleb Gayle

History Book Festival @historybookfest.bsky.social · Aug 14

Caleb Gayle will present “Black Moses: A Saga of Ambition and the Fight for a Black State” on Saturday, September 27th! 📚 @calebgayle.bsky.social

Book Talk: "Black Moses" by Caleb Gayle

Reposted by Caleb Gayle

Center for Transformative Media @nu-ctm.bsky.social · Aug 13

@calebgayle.bsky.social's new book is out this week! Join us on Nov. 19 at 7pm for a book talk and signing with the author: camd.northeastern.edu/events/book-...

College of Arts, Media and Design (CAMD)

camd.northeastern.edu

This Visionary African American Politician Dreamed of Creating an All-Black State in Oklahoma Territory

Reposted by Caleb Gayle

Whitney Peeling @wpeeling.bsky.social · Aug 13

BLACK MOSES @calebgayle.bsky.social, excerpted this week in @smithsonianmag.bsky.social: "It is the story of trying, why we cannot stop trying, and why being able to try is worth remembering at all." @riverheadbooks.bsky.social

www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this...

Edward P. McCabe petitioned Benjamin Harrison for an opportunity to show him that Black people "are men and women capable of self‑government." When the president was unmoved, McCabe and his followers ...

www.smithsonianmag.com

How New England built the Plains - The Boston Globe

Reposted by Caleb Gayle

Whitney Peeling @wpeeling.bsky.social · Aug 13

"[T]he moral decisions we must make [today] haven’t gotten easier. Who we detain, whose histories we erase, which freedoms we underfund.... The difference now is that there’s no Kansas to send our convictions to." @calebgayle.bsky.social @bostonglobe.com
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/08/10/o...

When a fugitive slave was caught in Boston in 1854, many civic leaders were outraged — but they wouldn’t challenge slavery directly. So they found an outlet for their conscience on the frontier.

www.bostonglobe.com

Review: Meet the man who tried to establish a Black state within the U.S.

Reposted by Caleb Gayle

Whitney Peeling @wpeeling.bsky.social · Aug 11

@hamiltoncain.bsky.social calls BLACK MOSES @calebgayle.bsky.social "eloquent" & "engrossing." "Gayle does more than just rescue a forgotten yet crucial figure; he places McCabe at the center of radical liberation." @riverheadbooks.bsky.social @startribune.com www.startribune.com/edward-mccab...

Nonfiction: Caleb Gayle’s gorgeous “Black Moses” illuminates a forgotten figure from our racial past.

www.startribune.com

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Reposted by Caleb Gayle

Whitney Peeling @wpeeling.bsky.social · Aug 6

Tx to @therootdotcom.bsky.social for featuring BLACK MOSES @calebgayle.bsky.social in its August Books round-up! @riverheadbooks.bsky.social @thegernertco.bsky.social

www.theroot.com/august-2025-...

August 2025 Books By Black Authors We Can't Wait to Read | The Root

The summer may be almost over, but great books by Black authors are still coming in hot.

www.theroot.com

22 Books Coming in August

Reposted by Caleb Gayle

Whitney Peeling @wpeeling.bsky.social · Jul 30

Love seeing Caleb Gayle's superb BLACK MOSES (Riverhead, Aug 12) on this list!

@nytimes.com @calebgayle.bsky.social @riverheadbooks.bsky.social @thegernertco.bsky.social

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/30/b...

The Rev William Barber’s ‘moral movement’ confronts Trump’s America. Can it work?

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Reposted by Caleb Gayle

Adam Harris @adamhsays.com · Jul 5

I have a new piece out today in @theguardian.com on Rev. William Barber and the moral movement: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

In weekly nonviolent protests that channel the civil rights tradition, the faithful rally to end poverty and injustice

www.theguardian.com

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Caleb Gayle @calebgayle.bsky.social · Jul 3

Gotta love a STARRED review from the fine folks at @publisherswkly.bsky.social. Can’t wait for you all to get your hands on this new one

Publishers Weekly @publisherswkly.bsky.social · Jun 25

★ In this enthralling saga, Caleb Gayle resurfaces the little-remembered late-19th-century effort to turn Oklahoma into a Black state. His stylish, brisk account elegantly incorporates many tangents.

Black Moses: A Saga of Ambition and the Fight for a Black State by Caleb Gayle

In this enthralling saga, journalist Gayle (We Refuse to Forget) resurfaces the little-remembered late-19th-century effort to tu...

buff.ly

Life in Jane Austen’s Goshen by Caleb Gayle

Caleb Gayle @calebgayle.bsky.social · Jun 12

Wrote about Jane Austen, family, and faith for the @parisreview.bsky.social. www.theparisreview.org/blog/2025/06...

June 12, 2025 – "Austen made me feel like I belonged in the making of literature."

www.theparisreview.org

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Caleb Gayle @calebgayle.bsky.social · May 22

I wrote about this last year and it seems like this outcome could’ve been predicted long ago www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/m...

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Reposted by Caleb Gayle

Rob Liguori @robxlii.bsky.social · May 22

For more on this, read a story from December by my colleague @calebgayle.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/m...

Could This Tiny School Break Down the Wall Between Church and State?

Caleb Gayle @calebgayle.bsky.social · Apr 30

Listening to today’s oral arguments at SCOTUS about church and state and publicly funding religious schools felt like Deja vu until I remembered that I wrote a story predicting today’s arguments and gave the long backstory that got us here in @nytimes.com last year www.nytimes.com/2024/12/12/m...

Officials in Oklahoma are laying the groundwork to push Christianity into public schools.