Gulf Coast Library Hosting Phi Alpha Theta Lecture

News item published on: 2025-02-20 11:45:00

The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) Gulf Coast Library will host the Phi Alpha Theta Lecture on Thursday, March 20, from 12:15 to 1 p.m. This special event will feature Dr. Douglas Bristol, associate professor of history at USM, who will discuss his book, Building Bridges: Black GIs, Military Labor, and the Fight for Equality in World War II.

Dr. Bristol’s research sheds light on the vital contributions of Black servicemen and their struggle for civil rights during the war. The lecture promises to offer valuable historical insights and engage attendees in an important conversation about race, labor, and military history.

Bristol, a fellow in the USM Dale Center for the Study of War and Society, and a historian of the African American experience. In his teaching and research, he focuses on the beliefs, institutions, and strategies that ordinary Americans developed to exercise control over their lives. In his book, Bristol details how the labor of Black GIs helped win the war and advanced racial integration in the US armed forces.

Phi Alpha Theta is an American honor society for undergraduate and graduate students and professors of history. The society has over 400,000 members, with some 9,000 new members joining each year through 970 chapters nationwide.

The lecture will be held on the first floor of the Gulf Coast Library and is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be provided. The lecture will be live-streamed on Facebook

For more information, contact Jamie Stanfield at 228.214.3467 or email .