I am a historian of the US South specializing in the history of slavery and plantations, material culture, the history of wine, public history, and Texas history. I’m a proud alumna of Houston’s High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, the University of St. Thomas, and Rice University, where I received my PhD in History in 2017. My first book, This Is Our Home: Slavery and Struggle on Southern Plantations, was published by the University of North Carolina Press in November 2023. You can find out more about my work, including publications, through my Curriculum Vitae.

Born in Alabama and raised in Texas, I’ve long felt a deep desire to better understand the complicated history that made the South what it is today. There is no understanding this place and its people without grappling with how race-based inequality emerged and morphed over time, from Indigenous displacement and erasure to chattel slavery and convict leasing to racial terrorism, segregation, and gentrification. Through the inspiring work of teachers, scholars, public historians, descendant communities, and activists across the region, I began and continue to grapple with the past and its living legacy today, a necessary step on the road to making a better future for all Southerners. I aspire to uplift and contribute to this deeply important endeavor through my work as a historian, author, and educator.