The lecture will examine the life of Oscar James Dunn from his manumission to his untimely death. Dr. Mitchell will discuss how and why Dunn was forgotten and the efforts and research involved in reviving his memory. 

About the Speaker:

Brian Keith Mitchell is a native of New Orleans and a resident of North Little Rock, Arkansas, Mitchell identifies himself as a “Transplanted New Orleanian” who is forever thankful to the State of Arkansas for welcoming him during the chaotic aftermath of the hurricane. Mitchell is currently an Associate Professor of History at the University of Arkansas Little Rock and an Associate Faculty Member at the Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity.

A graduate of the University of New Orleans, he received an MA in History and MS in Urban Studies. He also completed his terminal degree, a PhD in Urban Studies with a concentration in Public History at the University. Prior to assuming his current position at the University of Arkansas Little Rock, Mitchell was a decorated Senior Federal Investigator at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and winner of the Federal Investigator of the Year Award, and a winner of a 2021 Phyllis Wheatley Award for Monumental: Oscar Dunn and his Radical Fight in Reconstruction Louisiana (The Historic New Orleans Collection, 2021). 

The author of numerous papers, book chapters and books, Mitchell’s research primarily deals with Race and Violence and the Elaine Massacre. Nationally recognized for his public history and digital humanities projects, his research has been covered by CNN, Atlas Obscura, the New York Post, the Guardian, National Public Radio, New York Times, and the Associated Press.

Mitchell has been married to Camille Guess-Mitchell, a Little Rock native, for twenty years. The pair have two children, Mason and Chloe.