It was 1968, and I was an 11-year-old white boy in Appalachian Virginia imagining I was Hank Aaron. Home from school for the summer, a small group of us gathered for mornings in our backyard to play Whiffle ball — with a plastic bat and ball, and bases made from scraps of wood. A forsythia […]
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Farm Aid Book Review: Going Over Home
Originally published in Farm Aid
In 2014, as Farm Aid planted the seeds for our first festival in North Carolina, we were introduced to documentary filmmaker Charles D. Thompson, Jr. From our first conversation, it was abundantly clear that Charlie’s life experience—as a storyteller, farmer, farm and rural advocate, and social and racial justice advocate—was perfect for understanding a huge […]
Continue Reading →Originally published in Farm Aid
The Disappearing Landscape of Family Farms
Originally aired by WVTF
It wasn’t that long ago that one of every three people in this country were farmers. But over the last century small farming has been almost entirely replaced by agri-business, land development and better paying jobs in practically every other industry. Farmer, activist, and educator Charlie Thompson grew up in southwest Virginia amid a disappearing […]
Continue Reading →Originally aired by WVTF
New Mural Honors NC Farmworkers
This fall, the painting studio at the Rubenstein Arts Center was transformed by students in Charlie Thompson’s class “Farmworkers in North Carolina” and local Durham artist Cornelio Campos. During their arts project residency, students and Campos collaborated to create a mural inspired by their research of farmworkers in the Durham area. Duke CAST member Ilona Stanback […]
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Reinventing life in rural America
(Video) Duke professor Charlie Thompson discusses the decline of rural America and how small towns can use their own resources and strengths to rebound.
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As Seen on WUNC-TV’s NC Bookwatch
Watch the Full Interview Bookwatch at UNC TV broadcast this interview with D.G. Martin in May 2016. D.G. read the book with great sympathy, saying he had had a border trip on his bucket list. My book served as a surrogate to his travel there. After publishing a review in numerous newspapers and on his […]
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From both sides: Professor travels the U.S.-Mexico border and brings his story to UNM lecture
Originally published in Albuquerque Journal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Almost everyone has an opinion about the U.S.-Mexican border. But Duke University anthropology professor Charles D. Thompson Jr. has a challenge for his students and anyone else before they crystallize their thoughts. My recommendation is simple. Before you make up your mind on immigration, get to know an immigrant – at least […]
Continue Reading →Originally published in Albuquerque Journal
WECH: Interview with Charlie Thompson, author of Border Odyssey
Originally published in WECH - Emory & Henry College
Originally published in WECH - Emory & Henry College
Border Odyssey: Travels along the US-Mexico Divide
Originally published in Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
Tuesday, October 6, 2015 12:00 pm 145 Ednam Drive, Charlottesville, VA Take a most unusual US-Mexico road trip with VFH Fellow Charlie Thompson. A former farmer turned activist, Duke University professor Charlie Thompson is the author of Border Odyssey: Travels along the US-Mexico Divide. Border Odyssey is a compelling chronicle of a journey along the entire U.S.-Mexico border that shifts the conversation away from […]
Continue Reading →Originally published in Virginia Foundation for the Humanities
The Trump Winery and Thomas Jefferson’s Legacy
Just a few miles from Monticello, the Trump Winery (which I understand The Donald purchased from the Kluges after their foreclosure) boasts a direct connection to Thomas Jefferson. On the winery’s homepage, there are several quotes from Jefferson. The website makes its proximity to Monticello a selling point. Young Eric Trump, the son, is all over the website. […]
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