George and Ann RichardsCivil War Era Center

Joshua Strayhorn is a scholar of 19th and 20th-century African American history. His book project, Freedom’s Promise: Black Mobility and Migration in North Carolina, 1860 -1898, chronicles the history of enslaved and freed people’s communities and cultures in Eastern North Carolina, where its topography, ecology, and local people’s spirituality, helped shape the course of freed people’s migration to the U.S. Midwest, Deep South, and abroad. His work has been supported by the Mellon Foundation, the North Caroliniana Society, and the Kenan School of Ethics at Duke University. In 2022, he was awarded the Charlotte W. Newcombe Dissertation fellowship from the Institute for Citizens and Scholars to complete his dissertation. Dr. Strayhorn earned his Master’s degree and Ph.D. in history from Duke University and graduated summa cum laude with a bachelors in history from North Carolina Central University.