• 1:13:06 - 1:18:41
59: Restoring Justice
Melville J. Herskovitz and the Invention of African American Studies
The segment introduces Melville J. Herskovitz, a white Jewish anthropologist considered the "Elvis of African American studies" for mainstreaming the connection between African and Black American cultures. The hosts question how an outsider came to define the narrative of Black history in the mid-20th century. They discuss his 1941 book, *The Myth of the Negro Past*, and how his academic framework continues to influence modern perceptions of Black identity.