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The Cities We Need (Editorial)

Our cities are broken because affluent Americans have been segregating themselves from the poor, and our best hope for building a fairer, stronger nation is to break down those barriers.

Denis Goldberg, South African Freedom Fighter, Is Dead at 87

He was the only white defendant to be convicted alongside Nelson Mandela and others in 1964 for resisting apartheid. He spent 22 years in prison.

Russia Was Ready to Celebrate a Glorious Past. The Present Intervened.

As the coronavirus began its inexorable march across the country’s 11 time zones, it robbed the capital of lives, and also its chance to come together over a shared victory.

As Asian Americans Face Racist Attacks, a PBS Series Celebrates their Unsung History

The five-part docuseries “Asian Americans” features historians and artists like Hari Kondabolu, Viet Thanh Nguyen and Randall Park while highlighting milestones in the history of the country’s fastest-growing demographic.

COVID-19 May Permanently Shutter Museum Devoted to Vaccination Pioneer

In an ironic twist, Edward Jenner’s historic house is struggling to outlast the financial toll of being closed.

Victim or Executioner? Let the Computer Decide

An interactive plan for a Holocaust museum envisioned sorting visitors into victims, executioners and collaborators. Backlash ensued.

Violence Against Asian Americans Is on the Rise—But It’s Part of a Long History

A new docuseries on PBS calls attention to how Asian Americans have often been violently scapegoated for larger societal issues.

In Ahmaud Arbery’s Hometown, Pain, Anger and Pride in a Shared Racial History

Brunswick, Ga., gained national attention during the civil rights era for the way black and white leaders had worked together to integrate peacefully.

Historic Power Struggle between Trump and Congress to be Reviewed by Supreme Court

by Stanley M. Brand

Prior decisions involving Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton established precedents that seem to portend defeat for President Trump in the upcoming hearing. 

Daniel Dae Kim on ‘Asian-Americans’: Ugly History, Relevant Again

Kim, who narrates the PBS documentary, discusses its unanticipated resonance in the age of Covid-19 and his own experiences with the disease.

Mary Pratt, Southpaw Pitcher in a Pioneering Women’s Baseball League, Dies at 101

Ms. Pratt, who died May 6 at 101, was one of the first members of the Rockford Peaches, a powerhouse Illinois team formed in 1943 and immortalized in director Penny Marshall’s sports comedy “A League of Their Own.”

Inside Historic Black Bookstores' Fight for Survival against the COVID-19 Pandemic

For decades, these bookstores have occupied a singular place in the cultural life of black America, says W. Paul Coates, founder and director of Black Classic Press and BCP Digital Printing and father of bestselling author Ta-Nehisi Coates.

‘Last Train’: New York Subway Shutdown Because of Coronavirus is Another Historic First

In New York, nightly subway closures mean a tear in the fabric of the city.  

Commission on History, Race and a Way Forward Hears from UVA Leaders, Looks Ahead

A commission at the University of North Carolina looked to the University of Virginia for guidance on reckoning with the institution's historical involvement with slavery and the Confederacy.  

Learn About the Fashion History of NYC in New Documentary

“[The documentary] is about the history of fashion in NYC from sweatshops in LES to the heyday of the Garment District to independent designers across the five boroughs,” Ariel Viera said.

Barbara Babcock, a Force for Women in the Law, Dies at 81

“I would not hold the good job I have today were it not for Barbara,” Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said.

Biden Is Planning an FDR-Size Presidency

Biden's advisers agreed: If they were going to talk about lessons from history, their future calls might as well dive into the Great Depression and World War II.

The Elites Were Living High. Then Came the Fall.

Modern cities can learn from the fate of the collapsed civilizations at Ugarit and Mycenae.

Las Vegas, US Coronavirus Closures Mirror 1918 Pandemic

The pandemic sparked shutdowns, warnings and pushback around the U.S. that are eerily similar to the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak in Las Vegas and other cities more than 100 years later.

Little Richard: An Ecstasy You Couldn’t Refuse

Little Richard was a challenge to 1950s proprieties: to segregation, to musical decorum, to chastity, to straightness.