Timothy B. Tyson

Timothy B. Tyson is a historian specializing in the Civil Rights Movement, with a focus on culture, religion, and race in American history. Tyson serves as a senior research scholar at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, an adjunct professor of American Studies at the University of North Carolina, and a visiting professor of American Christianity and Southern Culture at Duke Divinity School. His academic work and public engagement center on the history of race, justice, and civil rights in the United States.

Tyson's publications address significant episodes in American racial history. His first book, "Democracy Betrayed: The Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 and Its Legacy," co-edited with David S. Cecelski, examines the Wilmington insurrection of 1898 and received the Outstanding Book Award from the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights in North America. His subsequent book, "Radio Free Dixie: Robert F. Williams and the Roots of Black Power," won the James A. Rawley Prize for Best Book on Race and the Frederick Jackson Turner Prize for Best First Book in U.S. History from the Organization of American Historians. "Radio Free Dixie" also served as the basis for the documentary film "Negroes with Guns: Rob Williams and Black Power," which aired on PBS and received the Eric Barnouw Prize for best historical film.

Tyson authored the memoir-history "Blood Done Sign My Name," which was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and won the Southern Book Award for Nonfiction, the Christopher Award, and the Grawemeyer Award in Religion from Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. The book was adapted into a play by Mike Wiley and into a feature film by Jeb Stuart, starring Nate Parker. Tyson's book "The Blood of Emmett Till" received the Robert F. Kennedy Book Award and explores the 1955 lynching of Emmett Till and its impact on the civil rights movement. The book appeared on the New York Times bestseller list.

In addition to his scholarship, Tyson is recognized for his contributions to education in African American history, Southern history, and civil rights. He has received teaching awards and developed courses that explore civil rights sites in the South, including "Freedom Ride: The Sites and Sounds of the Civil Rights Movement," which won the Best Course Award from the North American Association of Summer Sessions. Tyson has also been named a Distinguished Lecturer by the Organization of American Historians.

Tyson teaches African American and Southern history, culture, and politics at Duke, UNC, Durham Technical and Community College, and to the public. He works with Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II and serves on the executive boards of the N.C. NAACP, the UNC Center for Civil Rights, and Repairers of the Breach. Tyson is a frequent public speaker on topics related to civil rights, racial justice, and American history.