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Franco: Melilla Enclave Removes Last Statue of Fascist Dictator on Spanish Soil

The statue was the last standing after a 2007 law recognized the suffering caused by Francoism and began a process of removing memorials to the dictator. 

Camden’s ‘Hoodbrarian’ Brings Love of Books to Community

One citizen's efforts are carrying on the community functions of a public library system decimated by budget cuts in Camden, New Jersey. 

SPLC: Over 160 Confederate Symbols Were Removed in 2020

"The nonprofit organization, based in Montgomery, Ala., started tracking symbols of the Confederacy after a white supremacist killed nine Black worshipers at a storied African-American church in Charleston, S.C., in 2015."

These Portraits Revolutionized the Way Queer Women Were Seen in the 1970s

Joan E. Biren (known as JEB) published a collection of photographs of lesbians in 1979, a pioneering representation of queer women living openly. It will be reissued in March with retrospective essays. 

Lawrence Ferlinghetti Obituary

Lawrence Ferlinghetti's influence lasted long past the Beat Generation (of which he was perhaps the last survivor) through his ownership of the landmark independent City Lights bookstore in San Francisco.

Historical Markers About Notable Black Georgians Shot, Vandalized

Markers in South Georgia paid tribute to Jackie Robinson and lynching victim Mary Turner.

The Supreme Court is About to Hear Two Cases that Could Destroy what Remains of the Voting Rights Act

Chief Justice John Roberts has a long record of hostility to the Voting Rights Act, and authored the decision that weakened it. The Supreme Court is preparing to hear cases that may allow him to destroy the VRA. 

The Legacy of Rush Limbaugh (Podcast)

The Times Podcast "The Daily" looks at the career and legacy of the controversial radio host. 

The 150-Year Prosecution of White Supremacy

Merrick Garland's answers to quesitons about domestic right-wing extremism show that he understands the through-line connecting post-Reconstruction racist terrorism, the 1990s militia movement, and the groups present at the US Capitol on January 6. It remains to be seen if he will have the support he needs to follow through on his pledge to prosecute them.

Lucky Luke, the Comic Book Cowboy, Discovers Race, Belatedly

While Emmanuel Macron decries American obsessions with race and prejudice, right-wing French comics readers have reacted with anger to an effort to update the longstanding cowboy-themed comic franchise with heroic Black characters. 

What the FBI Had on Grandpa

by Molly Jong-Fast

"I never considered my grandfather to be a danger to the republic, but J. Edgar Hoover disagreed." The FBI surveilled writer Howard Fast extensively, though, as he wrote in his autobiography, "the eleven hundred pages detailed every—or almost every—decent act I had performed in my life."

Texas Failed Because It Did Not Plan

An analysis of three interrelated failures of planning, logistics, and markets that led to the Texas electrical disaster. 

Malcolm X's Family Releases Letter Alleging FBI, Police Role In His Death

The family of the late leader released a letter they claim shows the involvement of a NYPD detective in a conspiracy to assassinate Malcolm X. 

America's Churches are Now Polarized, Too

The Trump era has concentrated longstanding differences about the role of faith in American life and the obligations of the faithful to act in the world. During the McCarthy era, the Republican establishment pushed back against attacks on clergy by the far right. Will something similar happen today? 

Why Texas Republicans Fear the Green New Deal

by Naomi Klein

The Texas blackouts show the political and social dead ends of the market revolution and the fossil fuel economy, says Naomi Klein. Politicians and industries wedded to the status quo are attacking the idea of a "Green New Deal" because it's encouraging people to imagine alternatives. 

US Deports 95-Year-Old Former Concentration Camp Guard To Germany

Friedrich Karl Berger, a German citizen, was sent back to Germany this month for serving as a guard of a Neuengamme concentration camp subcamp near Hamburg in 1945.

West Hartford is Mostly White, While Bloomfield is Largely Black. How that Came to be Tells the Story of Racism and Segregation in American Suburbs

Local historians in West Hartford are working to promote public knowledge of exclusionary zoning and other practices that built and maintained racial segregation in the suburbs. 

The Rise and Fall of the L. Brent Bozells

by Timothy Noah

The charging of L. Brent Bozell IV with disorderly conduct for entering the Senate chamber on January 6 prompts reflection on how a series of men named L. Brent Bozell trace the evolution of American conservatism. 

A Georgia Lawmaker Asked How Colleges Teach ‘Privilege’ and ‘Oppression.’ Here’s How They Responded

State legislative inquiries in Georgia about how public universities teach concepts like white privilege require a large burden of administrative work and internal review by the colleges, with the largest share of scrutiny falling on history classes. 

Rush Limbaugh and the Nineties Roots of “Cancel Culture”

by Alex Pareene

Rush Limbaugh's career ended in a siloed media environment where the right occupied its own channels. But it began in a mainstream media that was eager to profit by marketing his brand of down-punching reactionary grievance.