Professor Painter discusses her book, THE HISTORY OF WHITE PEOPLE. Prof. Painter begins with discussing just what it means to be “white” and how ideas of whiteness developed using Ancient Greek and Roman sources. Ralph Waldo Emerson’s influence is explored before delving into eugenics, anti-Semitism, and Irish Immigration.
Nell Irvin Painter is the award-winning author of many books, including Sojourner Truth, Southern History Across the Color Line, Creating Black Americans, The History of White People, and Standing at Armageddon. She is currently the Edwards Professor of American History, Emerita, at Princeton University. She has a second career as an artist after retirement from Princeton University and lives in Newark, New Jersey.