History and Research

My research examines how citizenship, rights, and federal authority were defined and contested in the aftermath of the Civil War. I study Reconstruction as both a political and legal revolution—one whose unresolved tensions continue to shape American public life. I am especially interested in how racial politics, constitutional amendments, and congressional action laid the groundwork for later debates over equality and democracy

A central part of my work focuses on African American congressmen and officeholders during Reconstruction and the Gilded Age. These legislators reimagined federal power, balanced pragmatic coalition-building with moral idealism, and helped define a new political culture in the postwar South. Their leadership illuminates the possibilities—and limits—of democratic participation during one of the most transformative periods in U.S. history.

My scholarship traces how the meaning of civil and voting rights has risen, fallen, and risen again across landmark cases such as the Civil Rights Cases (1883), Williams v. Mississippi (1898), and Shelby County v. Holder (2013). I study how legal distinctions between “public” and “social” rights reshaped the boundaries of citizenship, federal authority, and racial equality from Reconstruction into the twenty-first century. These questions form the foundation of my current book project, Social Rights, Political Wrongs: The Contested Legacy of Reconstruction.

Alongside archival research, I am building digital humanities initiatives that use artificial intelligence and cinematic storytelling to expand access to historical inquiry. Through History Snapshots and NarratED Studio, I develop tools and workflows that help teachers and students create evidence-based historical documentaries. My goal is to link historical method, public engagement, and digital literacy while modeling transparent and ethical uses of AI in humanities research