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Michael Schuman: Xi's New China is Terrifying

by Michael Schuman

A leading China scholar argues that the government's increased restrictions on individuals and companies, from the petty to the consequential, signal a retrenchment of central authority after a period of liberalization. 

The Hate They Censor: Burying Lessons of History

The editor of the Mississippi Free Press compares today's national wave of book banning to the efforts to control information that established the "Lost Cause" narrative in early 20th century Mississippi. 

Doris Derby’s Searing, Intimate Photos of the Civil Rights Movement

Doris Derby didn’t just chronicle the movement with her camera; she also actively contributed to its causes.

New England Once Hunted and Killed Indigenous People for Money, Say Survivors' Descendants

"We are part of the team behind the new short documentary Bounty. In New England alone, we’ve uncovered government payments for 375 human scalps, submitted in 94 separate claims and equaling government payments of millions of dollars in today’s money."

New North Dakota Law Would be Illegal to Discuss Under Terms of That Law

by Judd Legum

The law will "deeply undermine the ability of teachers to teach and the right of students to learn," the North Dakota ACLU wrote in a letter of opposition.

Texas Principal Officially Fired in CRT Controversy

The first Black principal of Colleyville Heritage High School in Grapevine, Texas, has lost his job after months of allegations that he was pushing critical race theory on students. 

Is America Willing to Tell the Truth About its History?

by Tish Harrison Warren

What does the Christian faith require in terms of honesty and acknowledgment about the nation's history? 

Discovering the World's Oldest Figurative Paintings

The Sulawesi pig is estimated to be 10,000 years older than the Lascaux cave drawings and shows that figurative art didn't originate exclusively in Europe. 

Louisiana Governor to Decide Posthumous Pardon for Homer Plessy

Louisiana's Avery C. Alexander Act, named for a longtime state House member, calls for pardoning individuals who were convicted of violating laws establishing segregation or discrimination, but has seldom been invoked to do so. 

Brown Issues Expanded Report on University's Involvement with Slavery

Brown University has released an updated and expanded version of its 2006 report on the university's involvement in the slave trade, which points to further work to be done by the university to contribute to reconciliation and justice. 

What's in the Infrastructure Plan for Animals?

Collisions between wildlife and vehicles are bad for animals and dangerous and costly to people and governments, too. The United States may take steps to catch up with technology to mitigate them. 

New Translations Give Indigenous Perspective on Brazilian Colonization

The Potiguara people split their alliances between the Dutch and Portuguese in 1645; the letters show the consequences of the split and the internal politics of the indigenous nation. 

China Passes Historical Resolution Enabling Xi's Ongoing Rule

“By tracing the continuity of the party over 100 years, it is used to show that it was inevitable for Xi to emerge at this time to be the ‘core’ of the party,” said Tony Saich of Harvard's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation. 

View the Pioneering 1971 TV Series "Chicano" Through the USC Moving Image Archive

The Hugh M. Hefner Moving Image Archive of the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts has made available recently preserved video of the 1971 television program "Chicano," a pioneering examination of the political, social and cultural concerns of Mexican Americans in California and the U.S. Southwest. 

How do you Teach Kids about Climate when They've Been Raised amid Cultivated Doubt?

Although young Americans are more likely to accept the scientific consensus on climate change, there is a significant portion who doesn't, making science education another culture war battleground. 

Poll: 4 in 10 Republicans Want Less Teaching About History of Racism

Even discounting the current media buzz about "Critical Race Theory," new polling data show that there is a sharp partisan divide about teaching the history of racism in American schools. 

Academic Gag Orders

The PEN Foundation provides an overview of state laws regulating the content of school curriculum and concludes that they "not only pose a risk to the U.S. education system but also threaten to silence vital societal discourse on racism and sexism."

Secret NRA Tapes in Wake of Columbine Show Decision to Attack Critics for "Politicizing" Mass Shootings

The NRA faced a crossroads after the Columbine shootings in 1999. They chose a scorched-earth posture that has guided their response to every mass shooting incident since, documented in recordings of high-level strategy meetings.

MA Jewish Leaders: COVID Mandates Nothing Like Holocaust

"When COVID deniers and people who refute data-driven public health policy wrongly invoke the Holocaust, they pervert history, trivialize the memories of victims and survivors, and desensitize people to the monstrous atrocities that occurred."

Despite Administration Reversal, Faculty Suit against U of Florida Goes Forward

The professors claim that while the adminstration reversed itself as a matter of discretion, its "unconstituitonal" policy on conflicts of interest remains in place and threatens faculty's First Amendment rights.