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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."

Bob Moore, Key Pillar of the "Nashville Sound", dies at 88`

"Over 40 years Mr. Moore elevated the bass in country music from a subordinate timekeeper to an instrument capable of considerable tonal and emotional reach."

What Young People's Embrace of "The Sopranos" Says about a Changing Culture

"The show’s depiction of contemporary America as relentlessly banal and hollow is plainly at the core of the current interest in the show, which coincides with an era of crisis across just about every major institution in American life."

Racist "Replacement" Theory Goes Mainstream

"White replacement theory" posits the existence of a plot to change America's racial composition by methodically enacting policies that reduce white Americans' political power. It's moved from the fringes of the hard right to the mainstream of conservative media and some Republican politicians. 

You Likely Don't Know of the Tejano Patriots of the American Revolution

The Daughters of the American Revolution has extended recognition to Spanish Texans who fought the British and aided the American rebels in the imperial conflicts that accompanied the war for independence. 

Randall Kennedy on the "Right-Wing Attack on Racial Justice Talk"

"The history of American education at every level is full of examples of textbooks blocked, library books pulled, and instructors fired on account of right-wing objections to teachings about racial injustice."

Why No One in Media Cares About Nicaragua Today

by Eric Alterman

The American foreign policy establishment was once obsessed with undermining Nicaragua's leftist Sandinista government under Daniel Ortega. But today, when Ortega is carrying out a political second act as an authoritarian populist, US policy is limited to unleashing the Border Patrol on Nicaraguans fleeing repression, violence and poverty. 

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.

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).

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."

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 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.

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. 

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."

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."

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. 

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. 

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.

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.