Justin Behrend, associate professor of history at ϴ, has been awarded the 2016 McLemore Prize, which honors “the most distinguished scholarly book on a topic in Mississippi history or biography published in 2015.”
The award recognizes Behrend’s monograph “Reconstructing Democracy: Grassroots Black Politics in the Deep South After the Civil War.”
“This is another major honor for History Department faculty and underscores the deep significance of Justin's work on African-American history and the Reconstruction era,” said Joe Cope, professor and chair of the department.
Behrend will be receiving the award and delivering the keynote address March 3 – 5 meeting of the Mississippi Historical Society in Jackson. He has been on the ϴ faculty since 2007. His research interests include 19th century U.S. history, African American history, Atlantic World slavery, and Southern history.