“It’s important for young Black people to see those who came before them — people who did extraordinary things and were not limited by what the world expected of them.”
-Ethelene Whitmire
The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram by Ethelene Whitmire tells the true story of Reed Peggram, a brilliant Black, queer Harvard scholar who went to Paris in 1937 and stayed through World War II for love, eventually escaping Nazi-occupied Italy with his partner, Arne Gerdahn Hauptmann, with the help of an all-Black American regiment.
LISTEN
This episode was recorded before a live audience at Magers & Quinn Booksellers in Minneapolis. Lissa talks with author Whitmire about her research, her quest for untold stories, and the remarkable life of Reed Peggram.
Ethelene Whitmire is a professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison affiliated with the departments of German, Nordic, and Slavic, and Gender & Women’s Studies. She received an American-Scandinavian Foundation fellowship and a Lois Roth Endowment grant. She was also a 2016-2017 Fulbright Scholar and visiting professor at the University of Copenhagen’s Center for Transnational American Studies. In addition to The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram (Penguin Random House, 2026), she wrote Regina Anderson Andrews, Harlem Renaissance Librarian (University of Illinois Press, 2014).
GO DEEPER
Lissa and Dr. Whitmore talk about Reed’s rescue during WWII by the 92nd Infantry Division, an all Black Division. Author Whitmore references the Spike Lee movie based on James McBride’s book of the Miracle Santa Ana, about African American troops in Italy. Check out this conversation with Spike Lee and James McBride (who was an early guest on Black Market Reads Episode 22).
Lissa and Author Whitmire talk about several other notable figures including Curt Flood and Merze Tate.
WATCH
They also talk about several other African Americans who like Reed Peggram felt welcomed by the people of Denmark, including Booker T. Washington (1910) and Billie Holiday (1954). Pulitzer Prize finalist, Dael Orlandersmith Smith, wrote a play about Billie Holiday – Lady in Denmark. Hear what she has to say:
LISTEN
Learn more about Booker T. Washington’s travels here.
What is Ethelene Whitmire reading?
ENJOY!
Black Market Reads, is a project of the Givens Foundation for African American Literature. Our production team includes co-producers Lissa Jones and Edie French, technical director Paul Auguston, the voice of Yo Derek, and our artist of inspiration, Ta-coumba T. Aiken.