Scholar, writer, activist, and educator James Loewen passed away on Thursday, August 19th. Loewen was born in Decatur and served as a Visiting Professor of African American Studies at the University of Illinois. He visited campus as recently as 2015, as part of the University YMCA’s Friday Forum series.
Loewen’s Lies My Teacher Told Me and Sundown Towns are essential reads for anyone interested in American history. Loewen’s research for Sundown Towns began here in Central Illinois, where the legacy of these towns that were all white on purpose is still very much alive.
For more about Loewen, read his obituary in The New York Times and NPR.
Top image from James Loewen’s Facebook page.
