Paul Halsall Fund

Anybody who has taken a college history course, or has any interest in history at all, is likely to be familiar with the Internet History Sourcebooks. Run by Dr. Paul Halsall since 1996, the Sourcebooks, hosted by Fordham University, are one of the preeminent open-source repositories of teaching materials on the Web, and are used by thousands of educators from the primary through the university level.

It might therefore come as somewhat as a shock that Dr. Halsall, who, up to recently, was a history professor at the University of North Flordia known for being both well-liked by his students and well-respected respected by his peers, has been arrested for allegedly selling $150 worth of cocaine to an undercover police officer.

As open about his homosexuality as he is about his activism, Dr. Halsall appeared on the Jacksonville local news on Monday, May 16, decrying a drug raid conducted the previous Saturday night at the The Metro, a local gay club. As bars and clubs are some of the spaces in which gays feel safe to be themselves, they have become important LGBT social institutions. Dr. Halsall likened the raid to pre-Stonewall harassment, and claimed that it would have a chilling effect on local gay nightlife.

Not an hour after appearing on the news, Dr. Halsall was arrested at his home by Jacksonville police, who claimed he had sold cocaine to an undercover officer at The Metro the previous March. However, the paperwork showed conflicting dates as to when this alleged incident occurred, an alleged videotape showing the transaction never materialized, the arresting officers, unusually, did not search his house for additional evidence, and statements made by the prosecutor and police department to Dr. Halsall’s attorney indicate that he was specifically targeted for his public statements.

The so-called “war on drugs” is, in actuality, a war on individuals—in this case, a vocal individual who dared to speak out against perceived injustice. Refusing a plea bargain (thousands of innocent non-celebrities plead guilty every year in an effort to reduce the exorbitant jail time that DAs hold over them), Dr. Halsall is determined to prove his innocence in a court of law. However, an accusation is as good as a conviction: The University of North Florida, where Dr. Halsall was employed in a tenure-track position, refused to honor his contract and demanded his resignation without paying any severance. Having been born in Scotland (though resident in the U.S. for the past 18 years), Halsall is not eligible for Florida benefits, and is at risk of not only imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, but being financially ruined.

We have therefore set up a donation to help defray Paul Halsall’s legal expenses and to partially remunerate him for the years work he spent working on the Internet History Sourcebooks. To donate, please click on the link below. All funds will be sent directly to Dr. Halsall.