Civil Rights History and Interpretation: A Conversation with Dr. Michael K. Honey and Ranger John T. Fowler, II

A special virtual event, Civil Rights History and Interpretation: A Conversation with Dr. Michael K. Honey and Ranger John T. Fowler, II took place on August 11, 2022 from 2pm - 3pm ET. The Park History Program and African American Civil Rights Network supported the event.

Invited speakers discussed their efforts to expand research and interpretation of the struggle for civil rights into new directions. This includes exploring the links between movements for economic justice and civil rights.

A recording of the event will be posted below.

Visit Sites

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  National Historic Site

  Mary McLeod Bethune Council House

  Visit this National Historic Site to learn more about the life and work of Mary McLeod Bethune.

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  National Historic Site

  Carter G. Woodson Home

  Explore the life of activist and scholar Carter G. Woodson at his home in Washington, D.C.

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  National Historic Site

  Frederick Douglass

  Learn about the life and legacy of Frederick Douglass at this National Historic Site.

Dig Deeper: Additional Resources

Digital Resources

District of Columbia Public Library, Poor People's Campaign Collection Online, Poor People's Campaign Collection Online | District of Columbia Public Library (dclibrary.org)

Books and Articles

Ervin, Keona K., Gateway to Equality: Black Women and the Struggle for Economic Justice in St. Louis. Lexington, University Press of Kentucky, 2017.

Hine, Darlene Clark. "Black Professionals and Race Consciousness: Origins of the Civil Rights Movement, 1890–1950." The Journal of American History 89, no. 4 (2003): 1279-1294.

Honey, Michael. To the Promised Land: Martin Luther King and the Fight for Economic Justice New York, W.W. Norton, 2018).

Honey, Michael. Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, King’s Last Campaign. New York: W.W. Norton, 2007.

Jones, Ida E. "Mary McLeod Bethune, True Democracy, and the Fight for Universal Suffrage," National Park Service, August 10, 2022, Mary McLeod Bethune, True Democracy, and the Fight for Universal Suffrage (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov).

Jones, William P. The March on Washington: Jobs, Freedom, and the Forgotten History of Civil RIghts. New York: WW Norton & Company, 2013.

Mantler, Gordon Keith. Black, Brown, and Poor: Martin Luther King Jr., the Poor People's Campaign, and its Legacies. Durham: Duke University, 2008.

"Resurrection City," National Park Service, August 10, 2022, Resurrection City (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov)

More about the Speakers

Dr. Honey, a former southern civil liberties organizer, is a scholar of African American, labor, and civil rights history and of nonviolence and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. He is the Fred and Dorothy Haley Professor of Humanities at the University of Washington Tacoma and a graduate of Oakland, Howard, and Northern Illinois Universities. His work includes the books To the Promised Land: Martin Luther King and the Fight For Economic Justice (W. W. Norton, 2018), Sharecropper’s Troubadour: John L. Handcox, the Southern Tenant Farmers’ Union, and the African American Song Tradition (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), and Going Down Jericho Road: The Memphis Strike, Martin Luther King's Last Campaign (W. W. Norton, 2008) and the film Love and Solidarity: Rev. James Lawson and Nonviolence in the Search for Workers’ Rights (Bullfrog Films, 2016). 

John T. Fowler, II is a 12-year employee of the National Park Service, currently serving as a Park Ranger and Digital Media Coordinator at National Capital Parks-East in Washington, D.C. He has worked at several national parks and historic sites in the Washington-Metropolitan area, including: the Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site, the Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site, the Frederick Douglass National Historic Site, the Capitol Hill Parks, and the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad National Historical Park. Having always had a love for history and a desire to share that love with others, he graduated from the Public History Program at Howard University with his M.A. degree in History, and he holds a B.A. degree in History from the University of the District of Columbia. He is also an author, visiting lecturer, and has presented on panels at local, regional, and national historical conferences.