Melvin Patrick ElyMelvin Patrick Ely is the author of Israel on the Appomattox: A Southern Experiment in Black Freedom from the 1790s through the Civil War, which won the Bancroft Prize, and The Adventures of Amos 'n' Andy: A Social History of an Amercan Phenomenon. Ely is the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Humanities and Professor of History at the College of William & Mary, having earlier taught history and African American studies at Yale. He lives in Richmond, Virginia. Read More Read Less