From the inimitable Khalil Greene. Find his substack at

History Can’t Hide from Kahlil Greene

I share short “hidden history” lessons about Black, Native, Asian, and Latino American History. Subscribe if you want to know the truth about this country.

Every January, America trots out the same handful of Martin Luther King Jr. quotes. “I have a dream.” “Content of their character.” The safe ones. The non-controversial ones.

But here’s what they don’t show you:

In 1963, King wrote from a Birmingham jail that the “white moderate” was a bigger stumbling block to freedom than the Klan. He said people who preferred “order” over justice were the real enemy of progress.

That’s not in your textbook.

While schools teach that King “hated” violence, they skip the part where he told America: “A riot is the language of the unheard.”

By 1967, King wasn’t just fighting segregation anymore. He was calling out the “triple evils” of racism, extreme materialism, and militarism. He argued for a “radical redistribution of economic power.” He said capitalism itself was built on the exploitation of Black slaves.

He even wrote that a nation that did “something special against” Black people for centuries must now do “something special for” them.

Sound familiar? That’s reparations, in 1967.

This is the King they don’t want you to know.

This shift made him one of the most hated men in America. The FBI labeled him a “traitor” and the “most dangerous Negro in America.” His approval rating cratered to 25%.

And then, after he was killed, they sanitized him. They made his message safe enough for the same people who opposed him to quote him at ceremonies and celebrations.

This is what historical erasure looks like. It’s not always book burnings or dramatic censorship. Just … editing. Trimming the edges until a radical sounds like a moderate.

It’s the same playbook they’re using right now — on Harriet Tubman, on Indigenous history, on anything that makes America uncomfortable.

Reaching an agreement to end the war in the Balkans was a long and challenging endeavor. It involved various bureaus within the U.S. Department of State, interagency cooperation across the U.S. government, support from allies and the international community, and intensive American shuttle diplomacy and negotiations led by Ambassador Richard Holbrooke and his team. When the agreement was reached on November 21, 1995, the peace process didn’t end; instead, it entered an even more complex phase: implementation.

For the past thirty years, American and foreign diplomats, together with international organizations such as NATO, Office of High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, United Nations, Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, and European Union, among others, have worked tirelessly to implement the provisions of the agreement, build democratic institutions, strengthen the rule of law, and support long term peace and stability in the region. Today, thanks to these efforts, Bosnia and Herzegovina and the region have achieved considerable progress, even as many challenges remain.

The negotiations and implementation of the Dayton Peace Accords offer an important case study filled with lessons learned and remarkable diplomatic and personal stories that enrich the training of the next generations of diplomats specializing in conflicts, peace negotiations, and post-conflict reconstruction, as well as historians, students of international affairs, and the public interested in American diplomacy, European affairs, or the Balkans.

Each oral history below captures diverse experiences and voices of diplomats, national security leaders, members of the U.S. Congress and their staff, military officers, academics, and members of the public. Some were in the room where it happened, others played key roles in the implementation process. Some were just observers and witnesses to this landmark moment in U.S. diplomatic history, while others were inspired by the agreement to actively engage with the region. Welcome to the room where it happened!

The road to the Dayton Peace Accords was complex and challenging. In the following diplomatic masterclass, Ambassadors Peter Galbraith and Christopher Hill provide a very engaging discussion and reflection on agreements and events that preceded the Dayton negotiations, the dynamics and controversies during the talks, and lessons learned from the process. It is an introduction like no other to this moment in America’s diplomatic history.

Submitted by Amy Starecheski on 12/19/2025 – 10:43am

Seminar January 28, 2026

Location NY United States

In this interactive half-day workshop taught by the Director of Columbia Oral History, Amy Starecheski, participants will be introduced to oral history as a dynamic tool for engaged, collaborative research.

Oral history—a conversation about the past, happening in the present, and oriented towards the future—is a core part of human life. Oral history can also be a more formalized research practice. In this interactive workshop, participants will be introduced to oral history as a dynamic tool for engaged, collaborative research, in applications from qualitative social sciences to the creation of primary sources for historical archives. Topics will include:

• Critical history of oral history as a research practice

• Interviewing and listening

• Consent, copyright, and legal releases

• Tools for audio recording

• Project design and planning

This workshop is in-person only and will not be recorded. Capacity is limited. It is free and open to the public, with a number of spots set aside for Columbia affiliates. Registration is required and the deadline to register is January 28, 2026. Participants should plan to attend for the entire training.

Register

URL

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/introduction-to-oral-history-for-research-tickets-…