James T. Downs Jr.
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James T. Downs, Jr. (Jim Downs) was born on January 21, 1973 in Philadelphia to Concetta and James Downs of Philadelphia. He is the brother of photographer, Jaci Downs. Downs is the author of Taking Back the Academy: History of Activism, History as Activism (Routledge, 2004) and of Why We Write: The Politics and Practice of Writing for Social Change (Routledge, 2006).
Jim Downs is currently an assistant professor of history at Connecticut College. He earned his BA in English with a specialization in African-American Studies from the University of Pennsylvania. A member of the UPENN Speech and Debate team, Downs was a two-time state finalist in dramatic duo; the Harvard Crimson Improvisational Champion, and the Montreal Champion at the Queens Tournament. He then later pursued a career in acting, landing very small extra parts in Small Time Crooks, Bad Company, and 15 Minutes. In 2000, Downs pursued a PHD in history at Columbia University. As a graduate student, he organized three international conferences, which led to the publication of Taking Back the Academy and Why We Write. At Columbia, Downs studied under the preeminent historian Eric Foner, who directed his dissertation on the Medical Division of the Freedmen's Bureau. Downs has published articles based on his dissertation in Prologue and Battle Scars, a collection edited by historians Catherine Clinton and Nina Silber. Jim Downs also served as the Consulting Editor for the New York Times bestseller, The Intellectual Devotional (Rodale, 2006)
Jim Downs is working on two other projects--one on the 1970s, inspired by the work of historian Jonathan Ned Katz, and the other on his ancestor Rosina Downs, an emancipated slave from postwar New Orleans. As an African-American historian, Downs has remained very interested in the history of slavery and emancipation.
