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The Failed Promise of Free, Universal School Lunch

by Marcus B. Weaver-Hightower

With the lapsing of pandemic support for expanded school lunches, the nation returns to its historical roots of stigma and stinginess around the feeding of children. 

Stephen Aron's Work Examines Moments of Intercultural Peace in the West

by James Thornton Harris

Both triumphalist and revisionist histories of America's westward expansion emphasize violence, and disagree about whether to understand it with pride or guilt. But what can we make of the moments where understanding and accommodation temporarily prevailed? 

The Chicano Moratorium in East LA and Ventura County

by Frank P. Barajas

Chicano Moratorium commemorations continue today in communities in and out of East Los Angeles as they mark a history that centers on the experience of ethnic Mexican and Latinx peoples in the US to inspire and reinspire the young and old, to continue their struggle to realize the ideal of justice for all.

What Elizabeth Johnson’s Exoneration Teaches about the Salem Witch Hunt

by Tony Fels

The Massachusetts legislature recently exonerated Elizabeth Johnson, though her confession and conviction shows how "members of the Puritan communities of early Massachusetts could readily convince themselves that in some way or other, perhaps at a moment of weakness, they really had allowed Satan into their lives."

The Reputation of Presidents Takes a Hit in Their Second Term

by Ronald L. Feinman

The 2024 presidential campaign is fast approaching, with speculation rampant about whether Biden should seek a second term. Although his political fortunes have improved recently, the record of second-term presidents might give him pause. 

President as Change Agent: Breakers vs. Builders

by Michael A. Genovese

While Joe Biden has recently enjoyed policy successes that point toward a revival of the Democrats' political fortunes, his brand of change is handicapped by a lack of excitement. Will Americans ultimately choose a "disruptor" over an incrementalist? 

The January 6 Committee and the Paranoid Style

by Bruce W. Dearstyne

Episodes consistent with the "paranoid style" recur with sufficient frequency in American history to make them a landmark of the culture. But it's less well understood how each individual episode has faded, insight we could use today. 

Despite the Cultural Differences, There's Common Ground Between Boomers and Zoomers

by Joseph Preston Baratta

Despite the differences in their cultural touchstones, Gen Z faces the yet-incomplete challenge of the Baby Boom generation: uniting the world in novel ways to solve global problems. 

Who's Afraid of Critical Race Theory?

by Wallace Hettle

An introduction to the core ideas of the Critical Race Theory movement and its founding thinkers suggests the right today isn't mad about ideas, but wants a new and scary-sounding term to justify their ongoing opposition to racial equality. 

The COVID Era is the Latest Episode of Medical Scapegoating of Asian Immigrants

by Catherine Ceniza Choy

From smallpox to COVID, Asian Americans have been blamed and attacked for supposedly causing disease, while their contributions to American health have been ignored. This medical scapegoating and the violence that often follow it demonstrate the need to teach more Asian American history. 

A Writer Reflects on Four Enlightening and Challenging Lunches with the Father of Black Liberation Theology

by J. Chester Johnson

The author shared Arkansas roots with the influential theologian and teacher, from opposite sides of the color line. Their exchanges showed the possibilities of reconciliation and the height of the barriers created by racism in Americans' shared history.

Climate Change Just Erased the Past in Kentucky. Where Will it Happen Next?

by Tina A. Irvine

The archives of the Hindman Settlement School in Knott County were inundated by flood waters on July 28—a devastating loss of one community's history and culture, and a warning to historians that our knowledge of the past is at risk from climate change. 

What Does the Perot Phenomenon Tell Us about Andrew Yang's Third Party Prospects?

by William Kertzman

Third parties can temporarily capture the public if they meet a moment of discontent with resources and a compelling personality; building for the long-term is something very different. 

The Highland Park Horrors Won't Break the Gun Cult's Mythic Hold on America

by Thomas Lecaque and J.L. Tomlin

The myth of the armed citizen has little to do with the American revolution or the vision of the founders. It's all about the right's desire for a revolution to come. 

Weaponizing Bad-Faith History is a Conservative Tradition from Jim Crow to Alito

by Charles J. Holden

"Conservatives’ invocations of history often mixed wishful thinking about the past with bad faith in interpreting it. And it was always done with the present-minded purpose of maintaining elite white male rule, especially on matters of race."

Will Progressive Dems Realize Elections Have Consequences?

by Clyde W. Ford

Progressives need to begin “holding their noses” and voting based on a transactional rather than moral understanding of politics.

Don't Call them Conservatives

by Alan J. Singer

As we confront what is happening in this country, we need to stop calling the MAGA movement conservative.

Time to Amend the Constitution

by Don Fraser

Significant changes are needed to the Constitution in order to preserve any semblance of democratic government. 

For America, Let's Send the Adults Back to School

by David Chamberlain

The lyceum movement of the 1800s offers a model to reestablish desperately needed civic education and communal interaction across the lines that divide Americans. 

The Thirty Meter Telescope Project Exemplifies Scientific Progress and Indigenous Dispossession

by Marissa Gavin

The narrative of progress inspired by a new astronomy project clashes with the ongoing reality of indigenous dispossession in the selection of Mauna Kea, sacred to native Hawaiians, as the telescope's site.