Patricia Davis

President Joe Biden signs the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act, in the East Room of the White House, Thursday, June 17, 2021, in Washington. From left, Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif, Rep. Danny Davis, D-Ill., Opal Lee, Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., obscured, Vice President Kamala Harris, House Majority Whip James Clyburn of S.C., Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas. AP Photo/Evan Vucci

‘Juneteenth should be a day of reckoning’

The issues raised by Juneteenth, the annual holiday that observes the end of slavery in the U.S., serve as calls to action in the wake of George Floyd’s murder and the Black Lives Matter movement. Such was the message of experts who participated in a virtual Northeastern event on Thursday.

by Ian Thomsen June 17, 2021

Juneteenth just became a federal holiday in the US. Here’s what that means.

Recognizing Juneteenth nationally “emphasizes that African American history is American history,” says Patricia Davis, a critical and cultural studies scholar at Northeastern. The move serves to connect the country’s history with its legacy in the present, say Davis and legal scholar Margaret Burnham.

by Molly Callahan June 17, 2021

09/12/19 - CAMBRIDGE, MA. - Northeastern associate professor Patricia Davis poses for a portrait on Sept. 12, 2019.. Photo by Ruby Wallau/Northeastern University

Juneteenth: The legacy of the holiday

Patricia Davis, associate professor of communications studies, explains the long road that Juneteenth has taken to getting nationwide recognition—and what comes next for the holiday.

by Cam Sleeper June 17, 2021

Northeastern to mark the significance of the Juneteenth holiday with these events

In-person and virtual experiences June 16-18 will bring the university community together in celebration of the end of slavery in the United States.

by Peter Ramjug June 15, 2021

President Donald Trump speaks at a rally at Minden-Tahoe Airport in Minden, Nev. on Sept. 12, 2020. AP Photo by Andrew Harnik

It may have come and gone, but the 1776 Commission was no fluke

Former President Donald Trump’s 1776 Commission may not have lasted long—it was both created and dismantled by executive orders two months apart by two different administrations—but its existence is situated within a long history of reinterpreting the history of slavery in the U.S., say two Northeastern scholars of civil rights and race.

by Molly Callahan February 16, 2021

The magnolia centered banner chosen on Sept. 2, 2020 by the Mississippi State Flag Commission flies outside the Old State Capitol Museum in downtown Jackson, Miss. The nine member committee voted to recommend a design with the state flower. That design will go on the November ballot for voters consideration and if approved, it will become the new state flag. AP Photo by Rogelio V. Solis

‘This could serve as a source of empowerment for African Americans’

On Election Day, Mississippi became the final state to dissociate from the Confederate emblem, an enduring symbol of slavery in the southern U.S. This symbolic change could have lasting impact, says Patricia Davis, an associate professor at Northeastern who studies public memory, identity, race, gender, and representation.

by Ian Thomsen November 10, 2020

A lot more people are celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day instead of Columbus Day. Here’s what that means.

As Christopher Columbus’s legacy has increasingly been called into question, individuals, communities, and institutions across the country have attempted to reframe the day in honor of the history and heritage of Indigenous Americans.

by Khalida Sarwari October 11, 2020

Voices of Northeastern: Patricia Davis

“Confederate monuments are essentially a way for white people to say to Black people, ‘This is your place in the social order,’” says Patricia Davis, an associate professor of communications who grew up in a town centered around a Confederate statue. As a scholar of these racist symbols, she believes that removing them is not a violation of history, but rather “history in the making.”

by Emily Arntsen June 16, 2020

People gather at the Robert E. Lee Monument, now covered by protest graffiti, in Richmond, Virginia on June 7, 2020, following a week of unrest in the U.S. against police brutality and racism in policing. The statue of the Confederate Civil War general is slated for removal at the order of Gov. Ralph Northam. (AP Photo by J. Scott Applewhite

Why is there a renewed push to bring down Confederate monuments after George Floyd’s death?

The discourse around public symbols of the Confederacy has traditionally revolved around the perspectives of white people, says Patricia Davis, an associate professor of communication studies at Northeastern. The Black Lives Matter protests seek to change that, she says.

by Khalida Sarwari June 11, 2020

She’s exploring the African American experience through history

Patricia Davis, a new associate professor of communication studies, has analyzed how black history museums have memorialized the experience of African Americans before, during, and immediately after the Civil War. Now she wants to explore the relationships forged between African American women who belonged to black women’s clubs in the early 20th century.

by Khalida Sarwari September 16, 2019