James A Miller

James A. Miller was professor of English and American studies and chair of the American Studies Department at George Washington University. How one of the greatest miscarriages of justice in the United States continues to haunt the nation's racial psyche In 1931, nine black youths were charged with raping two white women in Scottsboro, Alabama. Despite meager and contradictory evidence, all nine were found guilty and eight of the defendants were...

Set along the Sahara's edge, Sijilmasa was an African El Dorado, a legendary city of gold. But unlike El Dorado, Sijilmasa was a real city, the pivot in the gold trade between ancient Ghana and the Mediterranean world. Following its emergence as an independent city-state controlling a monopoly on gold during its first 250 years, Sijilmasa was incorporated into empire-Almoravid, Almohad, and onward-leading to the "last civilized place" becoming the...