For this year’s Juneteenth commemorations, a new documentary and a just-published book on the life and legacy of Rosa Parks together exemplify that goal of finding inspiration in our most painful histories.
Pride Month is a time to better understand the experiences and identities of LBGTQ Americans. One of the most inspiring such Americans, in her life and her literature alike, was the groundbreaking author Gertrude Stein.
In trying to impose a European American identity on Native American children, the U.S. created a system of cultural genocide targeting all Native Americans.
Fred Korematsu was the young man who gave his name to the Supreme Court decision that upheld incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II as constitutional. Yet Korematsu’s battle, influence, and legacy go far beyond that loss.
Longfellow’s poem is entertaining in its own right, but it can also serve as a starting point for a more full, accurate, and ultimately inspiring understanding of history.
American studies professor Ben Railton looks how the history of the Braves reflect the highs and lows of baseball.
Learning more about the first Ukrainian American and his contributions to a foundational American story helps remind us that America has been profoundly transnational at every stage of its history.
It isn’t quite accurate to say that Ketanji Brown Jackson is the first Black woman nominated to the Supreme Court. Just over 50 years ago, Pauli Murray nominated herself, which isn’t even the most impressive thing she accomplished in her remarkable life.
American Studies Professor Ben Railton traces the fate of the Anti-Lynching Bill on the 100th anniversary of its passage.
While the filibuster started as a measure to protect the voices of a minority, more recently it has been used in quite literally the opposite way: to protect entrenched and powerful forces.
American Studies Professor Ben Railton discusses the January 6 insurrection as an example of mythic patriotism, a divisive and destructive type of patriotism that can be seen today and throughout American history.
Long before she founded the Red Cross, Clara Barton was an ally of the abolitionist and civil rights movements.
Ben Railton discusses the crucial work of the Hawaii Territorial Guard, from the capture of the first Japanese prisoner of war after Pearl Harbor, to the eventual formation of the Varsity Victory Volunteers.
The century-old anti-lynching journalism and activism of Ida B. Wells offer us three vital lessons for understanding our 21st century state of affairs.
Toni Morrison’s novel Beloved can make us confront unpleasant truths, which is why it achieves two of the most vital goals of education.
Two campaigns of anti-labor violence from a century ago illustrate the darker side of our labor histories, and remind us of the stakes for contemporary workers.