David Garrow

David Garrow
Born
David Jeffries Garrow

(1953-05-11) May 11, 1953 (age 71)
New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.
EducationWesleyan University
Duke University
Occupation(s)Historian, author
AwardsPulitzer Prize for Biography (1987)

David Jeffries Garrow (born May 11, 1953) is an American author and historian.[1] He wrote the book Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (1986), which won the 1987 Pulitzer Prize for Biography.[2][3] He also wrote Liberty and Sexuality (1994), a history of the legal struggles over abortion and reproductive rights in the U.S. prior to the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama (2017), and other works.[4][5]

Professional historians and scholars in other fields have criticized Garrow's later work on Martin Luther King Jr. In 2019 Garrow authored an article for the magazine Standpoint in which he wrote he had seen a Federal Bureau of Investigation file with a handwritten note on it claiming King had witnessed, failed to prevent, and encouraged a sexual assault by another minister. Garrow said he found it credible. King specialists and COINTELPRO historians described it as deeply irresponsible and excessively credulous in accepting the claim by an organization given a remit to destroy King and his reputation.[6]

  1. ^ Fischer, Heinz-D (2011-04-20). Biography / Autobiography Awards 1917-1992: From the lucky Discoverer of America to an unfortunate Vietnam Veteran. Walter de Gruyter. ISBN 9783110972139.
  2. ^ David Von Drehle (20 January 2019). "We honor Martin Luther King Jr. not for his victories but for his vision". The Washington Post. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  3. ^ Pat Morrison (17 May 2017). "Let's take a moment to remember Barack Obama". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  4. ^ "Conservatives are praising historians like David Garrow for demythologizing Obama". History News Network. 10 May 2017. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  5. ^ David Greenberg (19 June 2017). "Why So Many Critics Hate the New Obama Biography". POLITICO Magazine. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
  6. ^ Brockell, Gillian (May 30, 2019). "'Irresponsible': Historians attack David Garrow's MLK allegations". The Washington Post.