This summer, Dr. Allyson P. Brantley put me off Coors beer for good.
Last May, Brantley (assistant professor of history at the University of La Verne, near Los Angeles) published a groundbreaking new book, “Brewing a Boycott: How a Grassroots Coalition Fought Coors and Remade American Consumer Activism,” with the University of North Carolina Press. It covers the decades-long history of the Coors boycotts in fresh detail, focusing on the diverse band of leftist organizers who transformed scattershot union disputes into a battle for the nation’s soul. But Brantley’s work is more than the sum of its historical insights: It’s a guiding star.
Her scholarship is helping beer history transcend beer, and that’s a great thing. We need studies where beer is less the focal point and more an intersection for myriad societal forces, past and present. We need studies that dig deep into the archive to challenge myths, expand boundaries, and add voices.
“In writing ‘Brewing a Boycott,’ I wanted to do justice to the story of this long-running, and largely forgotten, boycott, but I also sought to challenge various boundaries of academic history,” says Brantley. “This particular story not only brought labor, Latinx, queer, and political histories together, but it also allowed me to cross the boundaries of academic versus popular histories.”
That matters too. Popular histories capture our imagination but can lack rigor and perpetuate myths. Academic histories are thorough but can navel-gaze. By threading that needle, Brantley sets a pace for the rest of us, adding to the well of historical knowledge from which today’s changemakers draw inspiration.
“I hope that those of us who write about these topics will continue to be creative in our storytelling and research,” Brantley says, “so that we can capture the complexity, joy, and struggle of making, drinking, and even boycotting beer.”
Words,Brian Alberts