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Frederick Douglass Statue Torn Down in Rochester, N.Y., on Anniversary of His Famous Fourth of July Speech

In 1852, Douglass asked the city’s residents and the country: ‘What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July?’

As Divisions Threaten America, The Pressure To Cancel Presidents Is Dangerous

Any hint of admiration for Lee means automatic cancellation these days but in the mid-20th century, it was ordinary and accepted.   

I’m a Direct Descendant of Thomas Jefferson. Take Down His Memorial.

by Lucian K. Truscott IV

it’s time to honor one of our founding mothers, a woman who fought as an escaped slave to free those still enslaved, who fought as an armed scout for the Union Army against the Confederacy — a woman who helped to bring into being a more perfect union after slavery, a process that continues to this day. In Jefferson’s place, there should be another statue. It should be of Harriet Tubman.

Santae Tribble, Whose Wrongful Conviction Revealed FBI Forensic Hair Match Flaws, Dies at 59

Legal experts said Tribble’s case and other wrongful convictions forced authorities to abandon blame of rogue FBI examiners or bad apples for systemic human error repeated over decades.

Crowd Rallies to Keep Confederate Memorial in Downtown St. Augustine

A group called Defend St. Augustine has more than 300 signatures on a petition to ask the commission to reconsider its decision to remove the stone honoring the city’s Confederate war dead.

Trump is Going All In on Divisive Culture Wars. That Might not Work this Time.

Trump is showing an inability, or at least a reluctance, to adapt to changing times, appearing eager to delve even further into divisive culture wars — and to continue deploying white identity politics and racism as his weapons of choice.  

Redskins, Indians and the Long Push to Drop Native American Mascots

The National Congress of American Indians, a 75-year-old organization that represents Native American and tribal rights, has long called for the elimination of all “derogatory” mascots.

Kansas Newspaper Equates Mask Mandate With Holocaust, Drawing Fire

Rabbi Moti Rieber, executive director of Kansas Interfaith Action, said most if not all comparisons of current political events to the Holocaust are “odious” and said it’s “incoherent” to equate an action designed to save lives with mass murder. 

National Review is Trying to Rewrite its Own Racist History

The conservative publication played a principal role in creating a conservative coalition of segregationists and business. 

‘Tell the Truth and Shame the Devil’

by Charles M. Blow

It is not a defilement, but deprogramming. It is a telling of the truth, and the time for it is long overdue.

Can Trump Pull Off an Upset Like Harry Truman’s in 1948?

Comparing Donald Trump's reelection prospects to Harry Truman's comeback victory in 1948 is a reach. 

Carl Reiner’s Life Should Remind Us: If You Like Laughing, Thank FDR And The New Deal

Reiner’s brother saw a small ad in the New York Daily News about free acting lessons being offered in lower Manhattan by the Works Progress Administration. Reiner had never contemplated acting before in his life, but his brother insisted, so he went.

A Teacher Held a Famous Racism Exercise in 1968. She’s Still at It.

The day after Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, Jane Elliott carried out the “Blue Eyes, Brown Eyes” exercise in her classroom. Now, people are returning to her work.

A Brief History of The Word ‘Redskin’ And How It Became a Source of Controversy

Its origins extend back to the 18th century, long before it became the name of a football team.

What Dr. Fauci and Others Learned About Battling Covid-19 from the Fight Against AIDS (Video)

The AIDS pandemic was marked by a slow response and a lack of clear public health messages and testing. Despite those lessons, we were still unprepared for Covid-19.

Do American Indians Celebrate the 4th of July?

The history of American Indian people's relationships with the federal government has shaped complex traditions of observing (or not) July 4th. 

Trump Vows To Veto Defense Bill If It Removes Confederate Names From Military Bases

Trump stood up for the honor of Confederate leaders while also lobbing a racist insult at Senator Elizabeth Warren and native Americans. 

Fourth of July: Beer’s Patriotic Connection to the Founding Fathers

As you plan your weekend celebrations, remember this quip by founding father Samuel Adams, who lent his name to a Boston brewery: “Let no man thirst for good beer.”

Calls for ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ to be Replaced With a New US National Anthem

Musicians and historians suggest the anthem, which was written by a 19th-century slave owner, has run its course as America’s national song.

As Young People Drive Infection Spikes, College Faculty Members Fight For The Right To Teach Remotely

Many schools are giving students the option to take classes remotely while expecting faculty to teach classes in person.