New Books Network Ethelene Whitmire, "The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram" (Viking, 2026)
Mar 15, 2026
Ethelene Whitmire, historian and professor of African American Studies, brings to life Reed Peggram, a queer Black scholar who escaped segregation for wartime Europe. She explores his letters, Hollywood-adjacent social world, romance with a Danish partner, capture and daring escape from the Nazis, and the archival detective work that rebuilt his story.
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Grandmother Drove Reed's Rise
- Reed Peggram was raised by his mother and grandmother in Dorchester after his father returned from WWI mentally disabled.
- His grandmother Laura Reed actively encouraged his education, pushing him to Boston Latin School and eventually Harvard, shaping his ambitions.
Top Student Framed Through Race
- At Harvard Reed studied comparative literature and excelled academically, graduating Phi Beta Kappa while continuing German and French studies.
- Professors praised his intellect but always framed achievements with racialized language like "a credit to the race," revealing persistent bias.
Rosenwald Fellowship Launched Paris Life
- Reed used a Rosenwald Fellowship to study decadence and 19th-century literature in France as a doctoral student, finally getting his longed-for overseas experience.
- He embraced travel and languages, turning the fellowship into a formative period that launched his European life.
