Aaron Munz's Page

In an essay entitled “Lincoln’s Contested Legacy” the author Philip Kunhardt makes a poignant observation about how history as “we” know is written when he talks about the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. in 1911. He notes that the most powerful speech at the ceremony was delivered by Robert Russa Moton, the African American president of Tuskegee University, but that his speech was largely ignored by the press at the time and his name has been forgotten by history by the whi… Continue

Boylan Bridge Soundscape.mp3 The Boylan Heights neighborhood in Raleigh was establish in 1907 and is currently home to one of the most politically and culturally active populations in the city. In October of 1978 the 1913 box truss bridge was closed by the City of Raleigh because of safety concerns. This decision generated considerabl… Continue

I have a difficult time looking at Mark Smith’s essay on touch, especially in terms of skin, in a historical perspective. In “getting In Touch With Slavery and Freedom”, Smith stretches the sense of touch to become more than it was. The discussion of skin – color, muscle tone, and general health – for slaves illustrated the importance of skin as it was judged and had value in the antebellum South. I understand how slave buyers would use their hands to evaluate the perceived value of another huma… Continue