Picture of Kenneth O'Reilly

Professor of History

Ph.D., Marquette University, Wisconsin

M.A., Central Michigan University

B.A., University of Detroit

afko@uaa.alaska.edu

Prior to joining the UAA faculty in 1983, Dr. O'Reilly taught at Marquette University, where he did his doctoral work, and at the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee.
Dr. O'Reilly has received Chancellor's Awards for Excellence in Research and Teaching.  He has also received grants and fellowships from numerous institutes and foundations, including the Gerald R. Ford Foundation and the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute.

Nixon's Piano

Book cover of Nixon's Piano    

The author "maintains that a 'Southern strategy'--'a belief that presidential elections can be won only by following the doctrines and rituals of white over black'--has been 'the . . . organizing principle of American politics' ever since the Constitutional Convention compromised with slavery. {According to the author}, only Lincoln and LBJ stand as exceptions: despite the former's 'white supremacist caveats' and the latter's 'surveillance state,' these two presidents truly improved African Americans' status and opportunities." (Booklist) Index.

"Racial Matters"

Book cover of    

The author traces the "relationship between the F.B.I. and black America, from the bureau's covert surveillance during World War I to the dismantling of its . . . intelligence apparatus in 1972. During that time, the bureau amassed dossiers . . . under the heading of 'Racial Matters.' It is from these recently declassified files that Mr. O'Reilly . . . draws much of his material." (N Y Times Book Rev) Bibliography. Index.