Journalist & author. My latest book is EMANCIPATION WAR: THE FALL OF SLAVERY AND THE COMING OF THE THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT (2026).
Joined December 2010
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What a thrill to finally hold a finished copy of my book after so many years of research and writing.
EMANCIPATION WAR: THE FALL OF SLAVERY AND THE COMING OF THE THIRTEENTH AMENDMENT, on sale June 1!
Damon Root retweeted
Ambrose Bierce delighted in writing about strange and horrific acts of murder and the macabre. So it’s perhaps fitting that Bierce would meet his own end under mysterious and possibly gruesome circumstances. damonroot.substack.com/p/the…
Ambrose Bierce delighted in writing about strange and horrific acts of murder and the macabre. So it’s perhaps fitting that Bierce would meet his own end under mysterious and possibly gruesome circumstances. damonroot.substack.com/p/the…
The legal philosophy that Justice Samuel Alito espouses in his new book sounds less like originalism and more like the results-oriented “living constitutionalism” that originalists have long claimed to oppose. reason.com/2026/10/08/alitos…
Justice Samuel Alito has taken to calling himself a “practical originalist.”
But the legal approach that Alito espouses in his new book sounds more like the results-oriented “living constitutionalism” that originalists are supposed to oppose. reason.com/2026/10/08/alitos…
Come on out to Easton, Maryland, this Saturday for the annual Frederick Douglass Day celebration. There’ll be a parade, children’s village, live music, local vendors, and yours truly speaking and signing books at the library. Hope to see some of you there! frederickdouglasshonorsociet…
Thanks to the Liberalism.org Show for this enjoyable interview about my book EMANCIPATION WAR. liberalism.org/podcast/s/lib…
From tariffs to birthright citizenship to mail-in ballots, Thomas and Alito have been more reliable votes for Trump than Trump’s own SCOTUS appointees. reason.com/2026/09/17/thomas…
Damon Root retweeted
In this most recent episode of The Blessings of Liberty, @RosenJeffrey sat down with award-winning journalist @damonroot to discuss his new book, Emancipation War: The Fall of Slavery and the Coming of the Thirteenth Amendment.
Damon Root retweeted
Knowledge can change lives and give people the tools to speak for themselves. Susie King Taylor’s story proves it.
@damonroot joins FIRE’s @RosenJeffrey to share how Taylor learned to read while enslaved and, after escaping to freedom, taught Black soldiers to do the same.
Damon Root retweeted
What do a mandatory land acknowledgment, a forced apology for a meme, and censorship of flood footage in Tibet have in common?
They all show what happens when institutions decide that avoiding offense, enforcing orthodoxy, or controlling a narrative matters more than freedom of expression.
Stuart Reges for @nypost on how he fought the University of Washington over compelled speech — and won.
🔥@Persuasion tells Vinita Prabhakar’s story of being fired after teaching a short story.
🔥@sarahemclaugh looks at censorship and repression in China and Hong Kong.
🔥@damonroot mourns the legacy of hardcore punk legend and free-speech champion Lou Koller.
🔥@cosmos_inst announces 80 new grantees
& a whole lot more!
See it all in this weekend’s update: open.substack.com/pub/greglu…
Happy birthday to the great Richard Wright, who was born on this day in 1908. I wrote about his enduring literary legacy, and his wild odyssey from Communist Party member to left-wing anti-Communist, in this 2021 essay. reason.com/2021/09/25/when-t…
John Roberts has blocked Trump’s tariffs and overruled Trump’s birthright citizenship order. But Roberts can’t seem to stop Trump’s ballroom. reason.com/2026/09/03/john-r…
A fond farewell to my former employer Columbia House, which holds the rare distinction of once paying me to write about Dokken, Iron Maiden, and Dolly Parton. damonroot.substack.com/p/col…
Farewell to my former employer Columbia House, the only job that ever paid me to write about the heavy metal band Dokken. damonroot.substack.com/p/col…
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”
Horror master H.P. Lovecraft was born on this day in 1890. reason.com/2019/12/27/the-un…
I’ll be speaking and signing books on September 26 at the annual Frederick Douglass Day celebration in Easton, MD, near Douglass’s birthplace. Hope to see some of you there! damonroot.substack.com/p/joi…
Damon Root retweeted
'Koller [& band] were never looking to be free speech champions or to be the public faces of some kind of culture war. But they recognized the attack on them for what it was and acted accordingly.' Great @damonroot eulogy for Sick of It All's Lou Koller
reason.com/2026/07/28/rip-lo…
Here's to the great Lou Koller, hardcore punk legend and free speech champion. RIP. reason.com/2026/07/28/rip-lo…
Remembering the Battle of Fort Wagner, fought on July 18, 1863, and its importance in the long struggle to eradicate American slavery. damonroot.substack.com/p/to-…
