Keri Leigh Merritt
@kerileighmerritt.bsky.social
Historian (PhD). Writer: Class, Labor, Inequality. Artist. Traveler. Rocker. Seeker. Books: Masterless Men, After Life; NEW: Lillian Smith bio 2026. IG @kerileighmerritt
Pinned
Final title for the Lillian book, out 9/29/26 from St. Martin’s Press (will reveal the author of the Foreword soon!):
AN INCONVENIENT WOMAN:
The Extraordinary Life of Lillian Smith, the Southerner Who Defied Jim Crow America
AN INCONVENIENT WOMAN:
The Extraordinary Life of Lillian Smith, the Southerner Who Defied Jim Crow America
Reposted by Keri Leigh Merritt
Betsy Friauf and I will be talking about our book, "The Purifying Knife: The Troubling History of Eugenics in Texas" at 6 p.m., Wednesday, November 19 at the Collin College campus in McKinney. We'll be in the Conference Center, Room F120A. We hope we see you there.
November 17, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Betsy Friauf and I will be talking about our book, "The Purifying Knife: The Troubling History of Eugenics in Texas" at 6 p.m., Wednesday, November 19 at the Collin College campus in McKinney. We'll be in the Conference Center, Room F120A. We hope we see you there.
Reposted by Keri Leigh Merritt
It's hard to express what it meant to watch Maurice, Natalia, Celeste, and Rhea tell their stories—in their own voices—this morning.
The segment revealed a brutal reality: homelessness at this scale isn't about personal failure. It's the result of policy choices and systems built to exploit people.
The segment revealed a brutal reality: homelessness at this scale isn't about personal failure. It's the result of policy choices and systems built to exploit people.
November 16, 2025 at 5:02 PM
It's hard to express what it meant to watch Maurice, Natalia, Celeste, and Rhea tell their stories—in their own voices—this morning.
The segment revealed a brutal reality: homelessness at this scale isn't about personal failure. It's the result of policy choices and systems built to exploit people.
The segment revealed a brutal reality: homelessness at this scale isn't about personal failure. It's the result of policy choices and systems built to exploit people.
Reposted by Keri Leigh Merritt
to see this person talk about what she considers the "miserable" conditions in academia that have led to so many of her colleagues leaving is quite something.
Jill Lepore in the Chronicle. This is still so embarrassing. I don't know in what world 2014 was "miserable" because students held the power over Harvard profs, and it was worse then than now.
November 15, 2025 at 11:48 PM
to see this person talk about what she considers the "miserable" conditions in academia that have led to so many of her colleagues leaving is quite something.
Reposted by Keri Leigh Merritt
I will no doubt read and enjoy all your very good Nuzzi jokes, but I also want to say earnestly, so many of us (myself included) are on the verge of being pushed out of this industry and it's genuinely so dispiriting to see the worst among us, ethics-wise, get such preferential treatment.
November 14, 2025 at 5:54 PM
I will no doubt read and enjoy all your very good Nuzzi jokes, but I also want to say earnestly, so many of us (myself included) are on the verge of being pushed out of this industry and it's genuinely so dispiriting to see the worst among us, ethics-wise, get such preferential treatment.
Reposted by Keri Leigh Merritt
Nuzzi's fawning coverage of the sociopathic conspiracy crank she was having an affair with aided his rise to political power, which he is using to perpetrate the worst intentional public health catastrophe of our unnecessarily shortened lifetimes, and THAT is the STORY.
November 15, 2025 at 12:18 PM
Nuzzi's fawning coverage of the sociopathic conspiracy crank she was having an affair with aided his rise to political power, which he is using to perpetrate the worst intentional public health catastrophe of our unnecessarily shortened lifetimes, and THAT is the STORY.
Thanks so much for joining me and happy birthday, Matthew!!
Great talking about the continued importance of Lillian Smith in this momement with @kerileighmerritt.bsky.social & @b3nediction.bsky.social
@americanstudier.bsky.social @imaniperry.bsky.social @barackobama.bsky.social @michelenorris.bsky.social
interminablerambling.medium.com/the-importan...
@americanstudier.bsky.social @imaniperry.bsky.social @barackobama.bsky.social @michelenorris.bsky.social
interminablerambling.medium.com/the-importan...
The Importance of Lillian Smith’s “Killers of the Dream” 75 Years Later in 2024
The Importance of Lillian Smith’s “Killers of the Dream” 75 Years Later in 2024 This year marks the 75th anniversary of the initial publication of Lillian Smith’s Killers of the Dream, and as …
interminablerambling.medium.com
November 11, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Thanks so much for joining me and happy birthday, Matthew!!
Reposted by Keri Leigh Merritt
Thanks to Meredith and Tony for including me in this outstanding collection.
In 2019, Anthony Harkins and Meredith McCarroll published “Appalachian Reckoning: A Region Responds to Hillbilly Elegy” in which dozens of authors and creative artists presented a retort to the shadow Hillbilly Elegy has cast over the region
Snag a copy today at WVU's Mountaineer Week Craft Fair
Snag a copy today at WVU's Mountaineer Week Craft Fair
November 8, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Thanks to Meredith and Tony for including me in this outstanding collection.
Reposted by Keri Leigh Merritt
Final title for the Lillian book, out 9/29/26 from St. Martin’s Press (will reveal the author of the Foreword soon!):
AN INCONVENIENT WOMAN:
The Extraordinary Life of Lillian Smith, the Southerner Who Defied Jim Crow America
AN INCONVENIENT WOMAN:
The Extraordinary Life of Lillian Smith, the Southerner Who Defied Jim Crow America
October 18, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Final title for the Lillian book, out 9/29/26 from St. Martin’s Press (will reveal the author of the Foreword soon!):
AN INCONVENIENT WOMAN:
The Extraordinary Life of Lillian Smith, the Southerner Who Defied Jim Crow America
AN INCONVENIENT WOMAN:
The Extraordinary Life of Lillian Smith, the Southerner Who Defied Jim Crow America
Final title for the Lillian book, out 9/29/26 from St. Martin’s Press (will reveal the author of the Foreword soon!):
AN INCONVENIENT WOMAN:
The Extraordinary Life of Lillian Smith, the Southerner Who Defied Jim Crow America
AN INCONVENIENT WOMAN:
The Extraordinary Life of Lillian Smith, the Southerner Who Defied Jim Crow America
October 18, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Final title for the Lillian book, out 9/29/26 from St. Martin’s Press (will reveal the author of the Foreword soon!):
AN INCONVENIENT WOMAN:
The Extraordinary Life of Lillian Smith, the Southerner Who Defied Jim Crow America
AN INCONVENIENT WOMAN:
The Extraordinary Life of Lillian Smith, the Southerner Who Defied Jim Crow America
Reposted by Keri Leigh Merritt
Here is a more detailed post that I did back in 2020 where I break down the opinion piece. @democracynow.org @kerileighmerritt.bsky.social @marcelias.bsky.social @joyannreid.bsky.social @maddow.msnbc.com @rubybridges.bsky.social
interminablerambling.medium.com/our-laws-mus...
interminablerambling.medium.com/our-laws-mus...
“Our laws must be upheld”
When I was younger, I used to watch old black and white television shows on Nick at Nite and other channels. After watching the shows, I…
interminablerambling.medium.com
October 16, 2025 at 12:09 PM
Here is a more detailed post that I did back in 2020 where I break down the opinion piece. @democracynow.org @kerileighmerritt.bsky.social @marcelias.bsky.social @joyannreid.bsky.social @maddow.msnbc.com @rubybridges.bsky.social
interminablerambling.medium.com/our-laws-mus...
interminablerambling.medium.com/our-laws-mus...
Reposted by Keri Leigh Merritt
Fantastic speech by Joel Mokyr on why economics needs economic historians - and history.♥️
m.youtube.com/watch?v=__0s...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=__0s...
LIVE: Nobel Prize in economics winner Joel Mokyr speaks
YouTube video by Reuters
m.youtube.com
October 14, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Fantastic speech by Joel Mokyr on why economics needs economic historians - and history.♥️
m.youtube.com/watch?v=__0s...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=__0s...
Fantastic speech by Joel Mokyr on why economics needs economic historians - and history.♥️
m.youtube.com/watch?v=__0s...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=__0s...
LIVE: Nobel Prize in economics winner Joel Mokyr speaks
YouTube video by Reuters
m.youtube.com
October 14, 2025 at 11:47 AM
Fantastic speech by Joel Mokyr on why economics needs economic historians - and history.♥️
m.youtube.com/watch?v=__0s...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=__0s...
Reposted by Keri Leigh Merritt
Happy to announce that after my Lillian Smith bio comes out in Sept 2026, a new 10 year anniversary edition of #MasterlessMen - edited down with a new introduction - will debut spring 2027 (@CambridgeUP).
It will also have a new foreword by Pulitzer Prize winner Steven Hahn!!!
It will also have a new foreword by Pulitzer Prize winner Steven Hahn!!!
October 10, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Happy to announce that after my Lillian Smith bio comes out in Sept 2026, a new 10 year anniversary edition of #MasterlessMen - edited down with a new introduction - will debut spring 2027 (@CambridgeUP).
It will also have a new foreword by Pulitzer Prize winner Steven Hahn!!!
It will also have a new foreword by Pulitzer Prize winner Steven Hahn!!!
Happy to announce that after my Lillian Smith bio comes out in Sept 2026, a new 10 year anniversary edition of #MasterlessMen - edited down with a new introduction - will debut spring 2027 (@CambridgeUP).
It will also have a new foreword by Pulitzer Prize winner Steven Hahn!!!
It will also have a new foreword by Pulitzer Prize winner Steven Hahn!!!
October 10, 2025 at 12:06 PM
Happy to announce that after my Lillian Smith bio comes out in Sept 2026, a new 10 year anniversary edition of #MasterlessMen - edited down with a new introduction - will debut spring 2027 (@CambridgeUP).
It will also have a new foreword by Pulitzer Prize winner Steven Hahn!!!
It will also have a new foreword by Pulitzer Prize winner Steven Hahn!!!
Reposted by Keri Leigh Merritt
Took about 20 years. And I never thought a book about enslavers using deputization to give themselves policing power would be relevant to our times. But we are where we are.
My book, White Power: Policing American Slavery, is now available for preorder.
a.co/d/29c7EIP
My book, White Power: Policing American Slavery, is now available for preorder.
a.co/d/29c7EIP
September 29, 2025 at 9:01 PM
Took about 20 years. And I never thought a book about enslavers using deputization to give themselves policing power would be relevant to our times. But we are where we are.
My book, White Power: Policing American Slavery, is now available for preorder.
a.co/d/29c7EIP
My book, White Power: Policing American Slavery, is now available for preorder.
a.co/d/29c7EIP
Reposted by Keri Leigh Merritt
My book on this amazing woman will be out about this time next year - read Matthew’s great piece to understand why she’s so important and deserving of a new biography:
Lillian Smith died 59 years ago today. MLK called her “one of the brightest stars in the human firmament” and proclaimed “no southerner seared the conscience of white southerners on the question of racial injustice than Lillian Smith.”
interminablerambling.medium.com/lillian-smit...
interminablerambling.medium.com/lillian-smit...
Lillian Smith’s Enduring Legacy
What makes Lillian Smith’s work endure? What makes any writer’s work endure? The relationship between an author and their text, and a text…
interminablerambling.medium.com
September 28, 2025 at 12:24 PM
My book on this amazing woman will be out about this time next year - read Matthew’s great piece to understand why she’s so important and deserving of a new biography:
My book on this amazing woman will be out about this time next year - read Matthew’s great piece to understand why she’s so important and deserving of a new biography:
Lillian Smith died 59 years ago today. MLK called her “one of the brightest stars in the human firmament” and proclaimed “no southerner seared the conscience of white southerners on the question of racial injustice than Lillian Smith.”
interminablerambling.medium.com/lillian-smit...
interminablerambling.medium.com/lillian-smit...
Lillian Smith’s Enduring Legacy
What makes Lillian Smith’s work endure? What makes any writer’s work endure? The relationship between an author and their text, and a text…
interminablerambling.medium.com
September 28, 2025 at 12:24 PM
My book on this amazing woman will be out about this time next year - read Matthew’s great piece to understand why she’s so important and deserving of a new biography:
Reposted by Keri Leigh Merritt
was used for many things, but one of the things was to keep abolitionist speech away from poor white people (which certainly could contribute to keeping it away from enslaved Black people).
September 20, 2025 at 2:54 PM
was used for many things, but one of the things was to keep abolitionist speech away from poor white people (which certainly could contribute to keeping it away from enslaved Black people).
Reposted by Keri Leigh Merritt
She writes in her excellent book "Masterless Men: Poor Whites and Slavery in the Antebellum" about the carceral infrastructure that existed for poor white people (and of course was immediately turned upon Black people in the aftermath of the defeat of Reconstruction), and how that infrastructure
September 20, 2025 at 2:53 PM
She writes in her excellent book "Masterless Men: Poor Whites and Slavery in the Antebellum" about the carceral infrastructure that existed for poor white people (and of course was immediately turned upon Black people in the aftermath of the defeat of Reconstruction), and how that infrastructure
Reposted by Keri Leigh Merritt
Of course there's no shortage of suppressed speech in this country, but one particular form that I learned about from @kerileighmerritt.bsky.social was just how much abolitionist speech was kept from poor white people in the antebellum South. In many ways they lived under a police state.
September 20, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Of course there's no shortage of suppressed speech in this country, but one particular form that I learned about from @kerileighmerritt.bsky.social was just how much abolitionist speech was kept from poor white people in the antebellum South. In many ways they lived under a police state.
Reposted by Keri Leigh Merritt
Just a reminder as WEB DuBois, Lillian Smith, @kerileighmerritt.bsky.social and countless others point out, you’re expendable.
interminablerambling.medium.com/divide-and-c...
interminablerambling.medium.com/divide-and-c...
Divide and Conquer: You’re Expendable
I’ve always known that rhetoric, speech, and writing serve as weapons to sever communities or as tools to bring them together. Because of…
interminablerambling.medium.com
September 19, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Just a reminder as WEB DuBois, Lillian Smith, @kerileighmerritt.bsky.social and countless others point out, you’re expendable.
interminablerambling.medium.com/divide-and-c...
interminablerambling.medium.com/divide-and-c...
Reposted by Keri Leigh Merritt
The lack of food has been "been live streamed into peoples living rooms for almost 2 years now"
Tess Ingram from UNICEF on being told Israel has dismissed the IPC report declaring famine in Gaza City as a fabricated report to fit Hamas's fake campaign.
Tess Ingram from UNICEF on being told Israel has dismissed the IPC report declaring famine in Gaza City as a fabricated report to fit Hamas's fake campaign.
August 22, 2025 at 10:41 AM
The lack of food has been "been live streamed into peoples living rooms for almost 2 years now"
Tess Ingram from UNICEF on being told Israel has dismissed the IPC report declaring famine in Gaza City as a fabricated report to fit Hamas's fake campaign.
Tess Ingram from UNICEF on being told Israel has dismissed the IPC report declaring famine in Gaza City as a fabricated report to fit Hamas's fake campaign.
Completely finished (edited & turned in!) my new biography of Lillian Smith, the bestselling author, civil rights activist, & FIRST white Southerner to publicly call for integration.
Will be out September 2026 from St. Martin’s Press. Excited to share her amazing story with the world.♥️
Will be out September 2026 from St. Martin’s Press. Excited to share her amazing story with the world.♥️
August 15, 2025 at 1:05 PM
Completely finished (edited & turned in!) my new biography of Lillian Smith, the bestselling author, civil rights activist, & FIRST white Southerner to publicly call for integration.
Will be out September 2026 from St. Martin’s Press. Excited to share her amazing story with the world.♥️
Will be out September 2026 from St. Martin’s Press. Excited to share her amazing story with the world.♥️
Reposted by Keri Leigh Merritt
Please check out my new book on Trump and stereotypes, published today. Also, this Weds at 6:30 my co-author Anastacia Kurylo and I will be at Barnes & Noble at the SmithHaven Mall talking about the book. www.amazon.com/Riling-Base-...
Riling Up the Base: Examining Trump’s Use of Stereotypes through an Interdisciplinary Lens (De Gruyter Series in Race, Ethnicity, and Political Communication, 3)
Riling Up the Base: Examining Trump’s Use of Stereotypes through an Interdisciplinary Lens (De Gruyter Series in Race, Ethnicity, and Political Communication, 3) [Kurylo, Anastacia, Reifowitz, Ian] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Riling Up the Base: Examining Trump’s Use of Stereotypes through an Interdisciplinary Lens (De Gruyter Series in Race, Ethnicity, and Political Communication, 3)
www.amazon.com
August 4, 2025 at 8:41 PM
Please check out my new book on Trump and stereotypes, published today. Also, this Weds at 6:30 my co-author Anastacia Kurylo and I will be at Barnes & Noble at the SmithHaven Mall talking about the book. www.amazon.com/Riling-Base-...