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Human Tissue Preserved since World War I Yields New Clues about 1918 Pandemic

"The partial genomes hold some tantalizing clues that the infamous flu strain may have adapted to humans between the pandemic’s first and second waves."

Joe Biden Wants to Be Like Roosevelt. But Can He Get the Votes?

Jill Lepore and Jelani Cobb join New Yorker Editor David Remnick's podcast to discuss the prospects for an ambitious program of spending and public works. As Lepore says, “You can’t put F.D.R. in Dr. Who’s phone booth and bring him to 2021."

Germany Nears Accord with Namibia on Colonial Killings

Germany has hinted at its readiness to make compensation payments to Namibia in reparation for the genocidal attacks on the Herero and other peoples in 1904, considered one of the first modern genocides. 

A Famed Folk Singer Won a Presidential Pardon after Molesting a Child. Did He Prey on Others?

Jimmy Carter's pardon of singer Peter Yarrow for sexual assault against a minor was overshadowed by the Iranian hostage crisis. Did he victimize others? (Content Advisory)

Officials Apologize for Deadly Police Shooting at a Black College in 1970

More than 400 students from the Jackson State class of 1970 were awarded diplomas on Saturday, as city and state officials apologized for the deadly police violence that took two lives and resulted in the shutdown of the campus and cancellation of that year's graduation ceremonies. 

Mexico Faces Up to Uneasy Anniversary of Chinese Massacre

The 1911 massacre of Chinese laborers in the town of Torreón shows that Asian migrants were subjected to mass violence throughout the Americas. The Mexican government and society have only recently begun to acknowledge this and other incidents.  

Racist Attacks Revive Asian American Studies Program Demand

Asian American student activists who are advocating for Asian American studies programs are carrying forward the legacy of student protest in the 1960s that led to the establishment of the first ethnic studies programs. 

Tulsa Race Massacre Commission Ousts Oklahoma Governor

The 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre Centennial Commission removed Gov. Kevin Stitt from the panel just days after he had signed a bill that banned the teaching of certain concepts about race.

In Israel’s Rising Violence, Ripples From 1948

The eruption of communal violence between Jews and Arabs in Israeli towns with mixed populations is a legacy of the events of 1948, when, in the context of war, many towns' Arab populations were purged (historians debate the degree to which this was planned, or part of Israeli state policy). 

I Survived Prison During The AIDS Epidemic. Here’s What It Taught Me About Coronavirus

by Richard Rivera

Like the AIDS crisis of the 1980s, imprisoned people at risk of COVID-19 find that suspicion, paranoia and isolation have taken the place of meaningful support. 

Opinion: If U.S. Museums Say Black Lives Matter, then they Should Return Africa’s Stolen Art

"So far, the Smithsonian National Museum of African Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art have not commented on whether their institutions will return the artifacts that were plundered from the Kingdom of Benin."

The U.S. Role in the El Mozote Massacre Echoes in Today’s Immigration

by Nelson Rauda and John Washington

Renewed efforts to prosecute the perpetrators of the 1981 El Mozote massacre of Salvadoran civilians during the civil war will further demonstrate American involvement in the perpetuation of inequality and violence in Central America and, the authors argue, the hypocrisy of US immigration policy. 

The Academic Concept Conservative Lawmakers Love to Hate

Chronicle of Higher Education Reporter Emma Petit examines the campaign to demonize "critical race theory." 

Open Letter in Support of Free Inquiry and Discussion

A group of interdisciplinary scholars and foreign policy practitioners argue that a recent prospective appointee to the National Security Council has been treated unfairly for challenging a hardline national security consensus in regard to Russia. 

Teshuvah: A Jewish Case for Palestinian Refugee Return

by Peter Beinart

Peter Beinart argues that the history of the Jewish people and the events of 1948 compel Israeli political leaders and American and world Jewish organizations to recognize a right of return for displaced Palestinians as part of a resolution to the current crisis in East Jerusalem. 

Labor Law Is Stuck in 1947. It’s No Surprise Companies Keep Winning

The 1947 Taft-Hartley Act did what its authors hoped: tilted the balance of power back to the side of the bosses. Is momentum building for a new labor law? 

Historians Say the Newark Museum’s Plan to Deaccession Art at Sotheby’s Will Inflict ‘Irreparable Damage’

More than 60 scholars signed a letter demanding that the museum abandon its plans to sell works from its collection to recoup pandemic losses.

FBI Releases File On Suspicions Raised About Kurt Cobain’s 1994 Death

Fans who doubted the official story that Nirvana singer Kurt Cobain's death in 1994 was a suicide had requested investigation by the FBI, which declined. 

"Abolition Is...": A Roundtable

Several young scholar/activists reflect on how historical analysis can inform the contemporary prison abolition movement and alternative approaches to justice. 

The Ritchie Boys

Stories from members of the Ritchie Boys, a secret U.S. WWII intelligence unit bolstered by German-born Jews.