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Ken Burns's Documentary Shows We Can't Quit Ali

by Jay Caspian Kang

"The odd thing about American sainthood is that we seem to prefer those who, like Ali and Jackie Robinson, did not engage directly in the dirty world of politics, but rather stood as trailblazers or icons in sports or Hollywood."

Conservatives: If You Don't Want Critical Race Theory in Classrooms, Provide the Resources for Civics Education

by by Thomas Kelly, David Bobb, and Jeffrey Sikkenga

Our three organizations launched the American Civics and History Initiative, a collaborative effort that provides thousands of teachers with learning opportunities they may have missed in college or graduate school.

Good News for Humanities Funding?

"While the prospect for robust funding looks better now than it has over the last four years, advocacy remains crucial to the task of making clear how the humanities connect to the challenges of our current moment."

Frances "Sissy" Farenthold, Texas Liberal Lodestar, Dies at 94

“She was a tremendous inspiration to women of my generation, who saw her branch out and do things that we were not sure were possible,” said Mary Beth Rogers, who had volunteered on Ms. Farenthold’s campaigns and two decades later served as chief of staff to Texas Gov. Ann Richards (D).

How the Drive-By Truckers Hacked the Music Industry

by Stephen Deusner

Through lineup changes, record label hassles, and fans upset with their political lyrics, the Truckers have used the internet and social media to build support and survive for decades. Their story is a history of the changing business and a map for younger acts. 

When it Comes to Reparations, Is All Politics Local?

The debate over reparations is now enfolding consideration of the actions taken by local governments, including segregation, urban renewal, environmental damage, and highway construction that have harmed communities of color. 

The Latest Episode in the History of American Mistreatment of Haitian Migrants

by Edwidge Danticat

Novelist Edwidge Danticat explains the lengthy history of mistreatment of Haitian migrants by American authorities. 

The House that Charles Built: Moral Clarity for Racial Justice

by Jared Loggins

Beginning with 1997's "The Racial Contract," Mills unsparingly examined the intimate connections of racism and the liberal tradition; but his goal was always to reconstruct a truly inclusive version of liberalism.

Garrett Epps: The Civil War Roots of the Debt Ceiling Crisis

Congress wrote the 14th Amendment to guarantee the legitimacy of the United States' debt, because Southerners restored to power provoked a crisis over the respective war debts of the United States and the Confederacy. 

Is the Constitutional Crisis Already Here?

by Robert Kagan

"The Framers did not establish safeguards against the possibility that national-party solidarity would transcend state boundaries because they did not imagine such a thing was possible."

Discovery of Human Footprints Pushes Back Date of Earliest Humans in Americas

Discovery of preserved human footprints is another element of evidence to challenge the "Clovis" hypothesis that humans populated the Americas only at the end of the last ice age. The footprints are estimated at about 10,000 years older than Clovis tool artifacts. 

With Students Back on Campus, Faculty Push Back Against COVID Policies They Consider Inadequate

"Many are enjoying seeing students back on campus. But for others those scenes are fraught."

George Holliday Dies at 61, Taped LAPD Beating of Rodney King

George Holliday's fortuitous purchase of a camcorder inaugurated the era of civilian video evidence of police abuse, though accountability has followed only rarely. 

The Failure of Financialized Higher Ed

by Kelly Grotke

"Higher education has been captured by a vicious circle of financialization, which is destroying it as an affordable and widely available right of the citizenry, and as an engine of social mobility."

How Hong Kong's Elite Have Embraced a Shifting Narrative on Tiananmen Square

The rise of pro-Beijing politicians in Hong Kong has led to increasing reluctance to condemn the Tiananmen massacre. The arrest of protest leaders under the Beijing-backed national security law has further chilled dissent. 

Ghana, WEB DuBois Museum Foundation to Partner on Museum, Research Center

The Du Bois Museum Complex aims to transform the Center and create a living museum that revives the transformative spirit and vision of Dr. Du Bois for a unified ancestral home for Africans in the diaspora around the world.

Jonathan Mirsky: Historian Turned Beijing Correspondent, Mao Fan turned Critic of Beijing

After beginning an academic career in east Asian history, Mirsky reported on the Chinese occupation of Tibet and the Tiananmen demonstrations and massacre, letting the facts he observed change his assumptions.

John Shelby Spong, 90, Liberalizing Episcopal Leader

Spong's advocacy for liberalized theology, acceptance of women and LGBTQ clergy, and reconciliation with modernity encouraged some Episcopal congregations to liberalize and others to embrace conservative traditionalism, foreshadowing the tensions in mainline protestantism.

Alabama Begins to Remove Racist Language from State Constitution

The 1901 Alabama constitution explicitly declared its intention to preserve the power of "the Anglo-Saxon race." A committee is now preparing a version stripped of racist language which will go before the voters next year for ratification. 

"The Eyes of Tammy Faye": When the GOP Got in Bed with the Christian Right

The scandals involving the PTL television ministry of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker allowed Jerry Falwell to expand the inluence of the Moral Majority and connect the religious right more firmly to the Republican Party. A new film highlights that moment.