Ashawnta Jackson
JSTOR Daily
New York, NY, United States
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Past articles by Ashawnta:
The Flood Behind Bessie Smith’s "Back-Water Blues"
The Mississippi River flood that Smith allegedly memorialized happened weeks after she'd written and released her song. Where was the real “Back Water”? → Read More
The Legend of the Leatherman
From 1857 to 1889, he could be found walking a 365-mile loop in western Connecticut and eastern New York. Everybody recognized him, but no one knew his name. → Read More
The Rise and Fall of Fanny Cradock
Cradock was one of Britain's first celebrity chefs, but in what her viewers called “the Gwen Troake Incident,” she fell from her pedestal—hard. → Read More
On Your Mark, Get Set... Print!
The Boston Typesetting Races of 1886 demonstrated the speed of women compositors, helping to lower the barriers to workplace equity for female “swifts.” → Read More
Good Times With Bad Music
We've all got our tastes, but can anyone really define what makes music “good” or “bad”? → Read More
The Scholars Charting Black Music’s Timeline: Douglas Henry Daniels & Paul Austerlitz
Daniels and Austerlitz tell the story of jazz, from its origins in the blues, gospel, and funk to its impact on music around the world. → Read More
The Adventurous Life and Mysterious Death of Frank Lenz
In 1892, the master cyclist set out to tour the world on wheels. A few months later, he disappeared, never to be heard from again. What happened to Frank Lenz? → Read More
The Plight of the Hunter
Seeking buried treasure has long been an American pastime, but its the failure to find the gold that keeps the hunt—and the story—alive. → Read More
The Lost History of No-Fault Divorces
The regulation of divorce has changed a lot in the twentieth century. The National Association of Women Lawyers was instrumental in making that change happen. → Read More
This Revolution Will Be Amplified
From Lil Nas X to Valerie June to Darius Rucker, Black musicians are staking their claim in country music. Francesca T. Royster explains. → Read More
The Fakelore of Food Origins
Where did potato chips come from? How about clams casino? Are the origin stories for these foods true, or do they fall into the category of “fakelore”? → Read More
The Colorado Cannibal
Prospector Alferd Packer, stranded in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, was forced to eat his companions to survive the brutal winter conditions. Or was he? → Read More
The Scholars Charting Black Music’s Timeline: Tammy Kernodle & Stephanie Shonekan
Kernodle and Shonekan explore the contributions of Black Americans to classical music and the importance of music and song for social justice movements. → Read More
We're Going to Need a Bigger Note
Song sharks have been a problem for aspiring lyricists nearly as long as there’s been a music industry. → Read More
The Confounding Career of William Klein
The American artist brought the physical world into fashion photography in ways that were often unappreciated or unpredictable. → Read More
Vampires and Public Health
At the end of the nineteenth century, the people of Rhode Island were drained by a mysterious force that caused them to slowly waste away. → Read More
The Boomin’ Systems: The Evolution of Car Audio
Sound systems, as much as the automobiles themselves, symbolized upward mobility, social affiliation, and cultural identities. → Read More
“Everybody Look What’s Going Down”: The Sunset Strip Riots
In 1966, tired of being harassed by the police for their counterculture ways, the teens of Sunset Boulevard fought back through protests and music. → Read More
Lipstick's Complex History
From antiquity to the present, the laws governing the wearing of lipstick have been shaped by gender, class, safety, and religion. → Read More
The Hunt for the Massachusetts “Wild Man”
In a tale with as many false identities as supposed crimes, investigative reporter Annie “Londonderry” Kopchovsky gets her man (maybe). → Read More