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Selling the Holocaust?

Writer Menachem Kaiser discusses the genre of Holocaust writing and the engagment of the generation of grandchildren of survivors with Jewish Currents editors Arielle Angel and Maia Ipp. 

Ron Popeil, Inventor and Ubiquitous Infomercial Pitchman, Dies at 86

"Mr. Popeil’s mastery of television marketing, dating to the 1950s but spanning several decades, made him nearly as recognizable onscreen as the TV and movie stars of his era."

Fifty Years Since the War on Drugs

"This summer marks 50 years since the war on drugs began under President Richard Nixon. But the opioid overdose epidemic continues to ravage the country, and incarceration—especially of Black people—has skyrocketed over the past 5 decades." 

Critical Race Theory: A Brief History

CRT pioneers Kimberlé Crenshaw and Mari Matsuda explain how and why they developed critical perspectives on racism in legal scholarship and how little the current debate has to do with their ideas. 

Texas Lawmakers Used MLK’s Words To Attack Critical Race Theory. MLK III Says His Father’s Work Actually Supports It

“Yes, we should judge people by the content of the character and not the color of their skin — but that is when we have a true, just, humane society where there are no biases, where there is no racism, where there is no discrimination,” Martin Luther King III said. “Unfortunately, all of these things still exist.”

After a Mock Slave Auction and a Resolution Against Racism, Battle Against "Critical Race Theory" in a Small Town

The Traverse City, Michigan school system's response to a series of racist incidents sparked a backlash from white parents who now invoke the specter of "critical race theory" to accuse minority students and their parents of fomenting division. 

Revisiting the 1976 Chowchilla School Bus Kidnapping

The ordeal of 26 children and their school bus driver in California's San Joaquin Valley highlighted the conflicts between rural California and the state's urban centers, class conflict, and the rising fear of crime in 1976. 

Opinion: Students Need to Learn About the Haters and the Helpers of our History

by Michele Norris

"We do our children no favors if we only feed them a steady diet of fairy tales that sidestep life’s complexities.... What’s really at work is adults trying to outrun a sense of shame."

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver Ties the History of Housing Discrimination to Reparations

John Oliver breaks down the long history of housing discrimination in the U.S., the damage it’s done, and, crucially, what we can do about it.

Spain Pledged Citizenship to Sephardic Jews. Now They Feel Betrayed

The Spanish government has recently begun rejecting most applications for citizenship from the descendants of Jews expelled from Spain during the Inquisition; most applicants under the initiative launched in 2015 had been accepted. 

‘He Had a Life Before Death’: Remembering Emmett Till for the Child He Was

Emmett Till's cousin Ollie Gordon describes Till's personality at what would be his 80th birthday, reminding us that he was a person, and not just a martyr.

Remembering Bob Moses, 1935–2021

by Margaret Burnham

Robert Moses's commitment to grassroots democratic organizing was best expressed through listening rather than speaking, and purposeful following rather than leading. 

Like JFK, Biden Has Good Reason to Be Wary of the Military

Joe Biden faces challenges like those that confronted JFK: both presidents faced a substantial presence of right-wing extremists within the active and retired ranks of military leadership. Biden must stand firm in the face of manufactured controversies including over diversity training. 

Can Affirmative Action Survive the Supreme Court?

by Nicholas Lemann

The moderate Republican appointee has always served as the Justice to protect modest versions of affirmative action. What will happen in a pending case now that such Justices are gone from the court? The historical trajectory of supposedly meritocratic admissions offers clues.

Pancho Villa, My Grandmother, and the Revolutionary History of the Border

by Carlos Sanchez

Conflicting family and neighborhood stories about the life of Pancho Villa – bandit or revolutionary? – showed the author how little of the complexity of the Mexican Revolution and the experiences of ethnic Mexican people made it into his school books in El Paso. Will new Texas laws push this knowledge back into the shadows? 

Should Rep. Lauren Boebert Visit Auschwitz after her Comparison of COVID Mandates to the Holocaust?

"The Holocaust used to be out of bounds in political discourse because its enormity shocked the world—at least the free world. The original enforcer of this norm was conscience."

What the Congressional Black Caucus Lost When It Won Power

The Congressional Black Caucus has moved from the margins of power in the Democratic Party to the center, but has blunted its calls for change in the process, 

Richard Pildes: Our Elections are Too Frequent for Democracy to Work

by Richard Pildes

The legal scholar argues that the Framers' belief in frequent Congressional elections has resulted in time for governing being squeezed out by campaigning. 

Latinos Forgotten Victims of US Nuclear Testing

Hispanic and Native residents of New Mexico who were excluded from the first Radiation Exposure Compensation Act are likely to be included in a bill to reauthorize the legislation. 

How America Lost the Commitment to the Right to Vote

"The Supreme Court, Justice Elena Kagan lamented in a dissenting opinion earlier this month, 'has treated no statute worse' than the Voting Rights Act. She’s right."