Congratulations to Max Perry Mueller on winning the Jan Shipps Best Article Award for his article “The ‘Negro Problem,’ the ‘Mormon Problem,’ and the Pursuit of ‘Usefulness’ in the White American Republic.” The award is given through the Mormon History Association and is awarded on the basis of “best [exemplifying] the legacy of one of MHA’s most important founders, scholars, and leaders.”
Mueller’s article examines the relationship between Booker T. Washington and Mormon elites. The article focuses on the alliance between these two entities “based on similar histories of discrimination” and on the shared belief that proving “usefulness” was what it would take to “overcome their status as ‘problem’ people.” The article is published in Church History Volume 88, Issue 4.
