Tom Ward is an award-winning historian and Assistant Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences at Farmingdale State College-SUNY. A noted authority on issues of race and health care in the American South, he is the author of Black Physicians in the Jim Crow South (2003) and Out in the Rural: A Mississippi Health Center and its War on Poverty (2017), along with numerous articles and reviews. His work has been featured in numerous media outlets, including the The New York Times and The Atlantic, and he regularly speaks at events throughout the nation.He is currently involved in a book project on Health Care and the Civil Rights Movement.
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A native of Annapolis, Maryland, Dr. Ward and now lives in Northport, New York, with his wife and three sons. He received my B.A. in history and political science at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia, his M.A. in history at Clemson University, and his PhD in history from the University of Southern Mississippi.
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Thomas J. Ward Jr.
Historian and Author
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Phone:
631-420-2380
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Email:
Address:
220 Hale Hall
Farmingdale State College
2350 Broadhollow Rd.
Farmingdale, NY 11735
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PUBLICATIONS
Books
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Black Physicians in the Jim Crow South. University of Arkansas Press, 2003.
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Out in the Rural: A Mississippi Health Center and Its War on Poverty. Oxford University Press, 2017.
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Still Hungry in America (Foreword). University of Georgia Press, 2018.
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Selected Articles
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“Health Activism in the Sixties and the Development of the Community Health Center System,” in The Edinburgh Companion to the Politics of American Health. London: Oxford University Press, 2022.
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“The Plight of the Black P.O.W.” New York Times Disunion series, August 27, 2013.
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“Justice Too Long Delayed is Justice Denied.” Spring Hill College Magazine (Summer 2013).
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“Enemy Combatants: Black Soldiers in Confederate Prisons,” Army History (Winter 2010).
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"Black Hospital Movement in Alabama," Encyclopedia of Alabama
MEDIA
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"How aspiring black doctors faced down Jim Crow," The Washington Times (December 20, 2003)
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Bulletin of the History of Medicine Review of Black Physicians in the Jim Crow South (Fall 2005)
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History of Education Quarterly review of Black Physicians in the Jim Crow South (Summer 2006)
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Publisher's Weekly stared review of Out in the Rural, 10/17/16
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"Hungry in the Mississippi Delta," Southern Foodways Alliance podcast, 1/12/17
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Finalist, Recording Community Activism, Langum Charitable Trust
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Out in the Rural Book Review in Rural Health Quarterly 5/11/17
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"Out in the Rural: Where and How is Health Promoted?" HealthCetra radio, 6/15/2017
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"The Fight for Health Care has Always Been About Civil Rights," The Atlantic (June 27, 2017)
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"Still Hungry in America revisits seminal photo project," Atlanta-Journal Constitution, 3/5/2018
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"Still Hungry in America,"Southern Foodways Alliance, 3/6/2018
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Ralph Eubanks, Tom Ward, and Still Hungry in America, 3/27/2018
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Review of Out in the Rural in the Journal of American History (June 2018)
I am available for book talks and lectures on a number of topics, including:
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The Tufts-Delta Health Center
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The Community Health Center Movement
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The Health of The Great Society
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Black Physicians in the Jim Crow South
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Black Soldiers in Confederate Prisons
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Black POWs in Korea
Upcoming Events:​​
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Tuesday, November 3, 2022, 7 pm, "African Americans in the Civil War," Long Island Civil War Roundtable, Huntington Library, Huntington, LI.
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Monday, November 7, 2022, 7 pm, "“The Army’s Last Segregated Unit: Black POWs at Camp #5, North Korea,” Portier Lecture, Spring Hill College, Mobile, Alabama
Past Events:​​
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“Health Activism During the Freedom Movement,” Association for the Study of African American Life and History Annual Meeting, 2022.
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Thursday, October 3, 2019, "Health Care and the Civil Rights Movement," Leadership and Public Policy Conference, National Council of State Boards of Nursing, Atlanta, Georgia
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Keynote Address, North Georgia Food Bowl fundraiser, "Still Hungry in America: The Al Clayton Photographs." Gainesville, Ga., Museum of Art, August 15, 2019.
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Alpha Sigma Nu's "Last Lecture," Spring Hill College, March 21, 2019.
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"Black Physicians in the Jim Crow South," Alabama School of Math and Science, Mobile, February 5, 2019
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Wednesday, February 13, 2019, 3:00 pm, "To Treat and To Train: Tuskegee's John A Andrew Clinic," Alexander City (AL) Library
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"To Treat and To Train: Tuskegee's John A Andrew Clinic," Alexander City (AL) Board of Education, February 25, 2019, 1:30 pm
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November 4, 2018, "The Social Determinants of Health," TEDx, Spring Hill College
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October 29, 2018, "The Health Center Movement: A History of Comprehensive Care, the Future of Community Wellness," Keynote address, Texas Association of Community Health Centers, Austin, Texas.
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October 5, 2018, "Food, Culture and Place: A Public Discussion of Foodways in the American South, University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.
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September 17, 2018, "Enemy Combatants: Black Soldiers in Confederate Hands," Mobile Civil War Roundtable, 7 p.m., University of South Alabama.
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March 13, 2018"Rich Man's War, Poor Man's Fight: Conscription in the Civil War," Pensacola Civil War Roundtable, 7 p.m., First Christian Church, Pensacola, Fla.
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February 24, "Still, Still Hungry," with Ralph Eubanks at the Winter Symposium of the Southern Foodways Alliance, Birmingham, Ala., 3.30 p.m.
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November 13, 2017 National Association of Community Health Centers National Conference, Austin, Texas. Keynote speaker and book signing.
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Sept. 28, 2017 "Delta Health Center: America's First Rural Commuity Health Center and the Struggle for Racial Equality," Delta State University
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May 30, 2017 Mississippi Primary Health Care Association Conference. Golden Nugget Biloxi, Miss. 3.00-5.30. Keynote speaker and book signing.
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April 19, 2017 Radical South Conference, Oxford, Miss., 5.30 p.m. Tupelo Room of Barnard Observatory at Ole Miss. Talk and book signing
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May 5, 2017 Page and Palette, Fairhope, Ala., 5.00-7.00 (Art Walk). Book signing.
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April 18, 2017 Lemuria book store, Jackson, Miss., 5.30. Book talk and signing with Dr. Helen Barnes
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January 14, 2017, Bay Books, Bay St. Louis, Miss.
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November 17, 2016, CUNY Book Launch for Out in the Rural, New York City.
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