Congratulations to Professor Martha S. Jones for the recent publication of her new book Birthright Citizens: A History of Race and Rights.

Birthright Citizens tells how African American activists radically transformed the terms of citizenship for all Americans.

According to Professor Jones: “I am a writer, commentator, researcher, and historian. Writing is my first passion, from the sustained task of a book chapter to a brief thought on Twitter. You will find in all my work the coming together of race, gender, law, and history. This is certainly true in my scholarship. There is still so much to know about the African American past and I bring this to light by exploring race and legal culture. It is also true for my commentary, where I use the past to illuminate the present. I do not often endorse historical analogies, but I do think that the past offers cautionary tales for today. These days I am trying my hand at something new, creative projects that explore my family’s experience with mixed-race identity over two centuries and many generations. All of this work is possible only because I am surrounded by creative and challenging colleagues and students. To say that I teach African American history does not capture the richness of my work milieu. For me, the university is an exciting laboratory out of which my best projects emerge.”