Roundup

30 Years Later, "Falling Down" Still Shows the Shallowness of Suburbanites' Views of the City

by Carl Abbott

Set in a moment of economic upheaval, racial conflict, and media-driven fear of crime, Joel Schumacher's film reflected the degree of separation between America's suburbs and cities. Today, it's necessary to recognize that its portrayal of hostility and alienation isn't inevitable. 

Is Ukraine Headed for a Cease Fire? And Is That the Best Option?

by Sergey Radchenko

After an essential stalemate between 1951 and 1953, a cease-fire in Korea enabled the parties to avoid both defeat and the cost of victory. Is this the best chance for resolving the war in Ukraine? 

With SCOTUS Poised to Block Modest Debt Relief, What's Next for Debt Abolitionists?

by Eleni Schirmer

Organizing debtors to demand and achieve forgiveness—or abolition—of debt requires convincing people that indebtedness exposes social, not individual, failures. 

America Remains Trapped by the Dream of Global Hegemony

by Andrew Bacevich

American victory in World War II remains a source of dangerous myths and delusions about global supremacy. Both popular culture and foreign policy need to adopt the Iraq War as a less affirming, but more realistic, touchstone. 

Is Globalization Changing Mexico's Relationship to Death?

by Humberto Beck

Post-revolutionary Mexico embraced cultural commemorations of the dead—Diá de los Muertos—to help conceal the violence of the regime's rise. Now, that "traditional" culture is again being transformed by global cultural appropriation and the escalating violence of global drug trafficking.

It's Time for Labor Spring

by Cindy Hahamovich, William P. Jones and Joseph A. McCartin

In 1996, labor unions connected with campus activists to support anti-sweatshop movements, living wage campaigns for campus workers, and graduate student union organization. Now, labor must expand that effort for "wall-to-wall" organizing to make campuses better and more democratic workplaces. 

The Bankrupt Vision of the College Board

by Annie Abrams

"We have endowed the College Board with the power to shape millions of minds with its profitable exams. In turn, it holds students hostage for college tuition, stifles teachers, and destroys space for debating difficult topics."

Parallels and Divergences in Jewish and Asian American History

by Joel Kotkin

"The fate of Asians and Jews in America is about more than two minority groups. It is about the efficacy of equal and fair treatment under the law, and a democratic system based on merit rather than ethnicity."

There's a Long History of Indoctrination in Florida Schools—on the Right

by Tera W. Hunter

The author's experiences with a state mandated course contrasting "Americanism" with "Communism" echo in today's attacks on curriculum, and the exclusion of ideas challenging a social order of economic and racial inequality. 

The Lost Promise of College for All

by Jack Schneider and Jennifer C. Berkshire

The expansion of college education—and the encouragement directed at all Americans to pursue a degree—was driven by bipartisan agreement that education could increase prosperity and alleviate inequality. Unfortunately, without a commitment to public provision, the price has been massive individual debt. 

Can Republicans Rally Around DeSantis as an "Electable" Choice?

by Robert Fleegler

In the wake of disastrous overreach by House Republicans in impeaching Bill Clinton, the party cohered around George W. Bush as a candidate without Beltway baggage. If the party can't do the same thing in 2024, they risk being dragged down by Donald Trump. 

Welcome to the Predator State

by Michael Gould-Wartofsky

The rise of paramilitary police tactical teams heralds the arrival of a moment when policing drops the pretense of serving and protecting a community and embraces war footing. 

Black Power is a Love Story

by Dan Berger

While the movement is popularly associated with anger, love was the emotional force that enabled activists to struggle for justice against powerful opposition. 

The Roundup Top Ten for February 24, 2023

The top opinion writing by historians and about history from around the web this week. 

Silicon Valley Was and Is The Child of the Military-Industrial Complex

by Jeannette Estruth

"The technology sector attributes its economic power to its own creativity and rogue innovation, but throughout its history it has been dependent on the federal budget."

Nikki Haley's Confederate Flag Revisionism

by Kevin M. Levin

"Hopefully, Haley understands that a presidential bid means that she is no longer sitting in a room with the Sons of Confederate Veterans."

Who's Afraid of Black History?

by Henry Louis Gates

The protestations of Ron DeSantis aside, American schools today carry the legacy of a massive neoconfederate indoctrination campaign that distorted the meaning of the Civil War, Reconstruction and Jim Crow, justified racist terrorism, and erased ongoing debates—including among Black Americans—about the meaning of freedom and democracy. 

What the Rejection of African American History Means for Students

by Monica Washington

When a state decides to minimize African American history and thought in its curriculum, it marks that history as "other" and denies all students the opportunity to understand the national past and the prospects for realizing democratic values in the future.

One Historian's Journey Comes Full Circle in Her Hometown

by Annette Gordon-Reed

After Brown v. Board of Education, the schools in Conroe, Texas preserved segregation under the guise of "freedom of choice"—backed by custom and a history of racist violence. In 1964, Alfred and Bettye Jean Gordon enrolled their daughter in a previously all-white school. This year, the town named a new school for her. 

AHA's "New" Standards for "Scholarship" are Too Little, Too Late for the Profession

by Donald Earl Collins

The move to recognize forms of knowledge dissemination beyond the scholarly monograph follow the establishment's failure for years to recognize the need for public engagement that has recently been taken up by journalists, novelists, and other creatives.