News at Home

Footage in NYC's Archives Sheds Important Light on the Northern Civil Rights Movement and Police Efforts to Undermine It

by L.E.J. Rachell

Surveillance footage in the New York City Archives helps to highlight the importance of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) to the northern civil rights movement – and the techniques the NYPD used to disrupt it. 

The Issue of Visibility in Latino Art

by Ricardo Romo

"The moment is ripe for bringing Latino art to public spaces and public museums. The number of talented Latino artists has multiplied over the past two decades, and the opportunity to make their work visible is now."

"Two-Spirit" Visibility and the Year Activists Rewrote History

by Gregory D. Smithers

In 1990, a group of Native activists coined the term "Two-Spirits" to encompass a variety of people who embodied masculine and feminine traits in indigenous communities, replacing colonizers' terminology that emphasized shame or deviance. Marginalized communities change their history by changing who tells their story, and how. 

This Failed Blockbuster Killed Old Hollywood (and Maybe John Wayne, Too)

by Ryan Uytdewilligen

When John Wayne played Genghis Khan in a disastrous Howard Hughes production, it helped to kill RKO studios. Did it also expose the cast and crew to deadly nuclear fallout? 

Even With the Challenge of a Nuclear Crisis, 1962 Was a Year of Hope

by Walter G. Moss

For HNN Contributing Editor Walter Moss, 1962 was a year when it seemed the US was capable of overcoming the gravest challenges with positive results (it was a good year for him personally, too). 

On "Smoking Guns"—Yesterday and Today (and Tomorrow?)

by Jim Zirin

As text messages between Donald Jr. and Mark Meadows surface, it seems the last roadblock to a prosecution of Donald Trump over January 6 is a lack of will, not a lack of evidence.

The Problem of Presidential Isolation

by Michael A. Genovese

Today, who can speak truth to the president’s power? And to whom can a president unburden himself in those moments of stress and self-doubt? From whom can the president expect direct and candid advice?

The Erosion of the Concept of Legitimate Opposition Undercuts Democracy

by Jeff Kolnick

The rising tendency to see partisan opponents as enemies of the nation justifies action to weaken democracy. 

After 50 Years, "The Godfather" Still Has Fresh Lessons For Us

by Sam Ben-Meir

Francis Ford Coppola couldn't have anticipated the Trump presidency and its aftermath, but his 1972 masterpiece nevertheless helps uns to understand it. 

Ketanji Brown Jackson's Forbearance Echoed Jackie Robinson Before HUAC

by Bruce W. Dearstyne

In a Congressional hearing intended to sow guilt by association between civil rights and global communism, the baseball great refused to take the bait, keeping the focus on the need for justice and fairness in America.

The Integration of College Hoops Came through Many Small Shining Moments

by Chad Carlson

Cutting the nets in New Orleans, the Kansas Jayhawks follow the legacy of many players and coaches who gradually chipped away at racial exclusion in college basketball. 

Ralph Lauren's HBCU Tribute Line is Part of a Long History of Fighting for Recognition through Fashion

by Einav Rabinovitch-Fox

The designer's new collaboration with Morehouse and Spelman Colleges is more than a marketing ploy; it reflects the long history of Black college students (and Jewish tailors and designers) working to make the fashionable representation of the American ideal more inclusive.

Can Joe Biden Resist War Pressure and Lead Toward Peace?

by Martin Halpern

It will take political courage and wisdom for Biden to resist a policy course toward war by diplomatic engagement with Russia.

Decoding Partisan Declarations of What Makes a "Good Judge"

by James D. Zirin

Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson has a wealth of legal and judicial experience. The Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to counsel under the Constitution. Why, then, is her service as a public defender a source of partisan attacks on her nomination? 

Again, Russia is at the Center of an American-Backed War for Democracy

by James D. Robenalt

The abdication of Tsar Nicholas II in 1917 removed a major principled objection to calls for Americans to fight for the sake of democracy. The moral lines are clearer today, but once again Russia is at the center of an American debate about intervention.

Dispatches from Ukraine: “The critical question is: “How is everyone, and are you still alive?'”

by Priscilla Hart

A great deal of the Ukrainian experience can be understood by the efforts of women refugees to keep aware of their families and the progress of the Russian invasion and counterattack. 

Richard Nixon Made one of the Most Successful Political Comebacks in History. Trump Ignores His Playbook

by Donne Levy

Donald Trump is departing in multiple ways from the comeback strategy of Richard Nixon. Is this a political mistake, or a reflection of a different Republican Party and a different age of politics? 

The Power and Urgency of Public History

by David M. Chamberlain

After a tour of the South's historical sites, I maintain a teacher’s optimism that knowledge of our nation’s imperfect past offers us the necessary wisdom to walk ourselves back from the edge of the political ledge on which we are so perilously perched.

How Lincoln and Douglass Joined Forces for Freedom

by Jonathan W. White

Lincoln's discussions with Frederick Douglass should make clear the difference between the president's public statements and his inner convictions on emancipation. 

Malverne: The Incomplete Struggle for School Integration on Long Island

by Alan J. Singer

The general diversity of Long Island should be the area's strength. It's time to learn lessons from the past and stop allowing the area to be carved up into small and segregated school districts.