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People of Color Breathe More Hazardous Air. The Sources Are Everywhere

The findings of a new study confirm what environmental justice activists and scholars like Robert Bullard have been arguing for decades: minority communities in the United States are susceptible to a disproportionate share of environmental health hazards from multiple sources. 

Both Ivy League Colleges Apologize for ‘Serious Error’ in Using Bones of Black Child for Teaching

The two Ivy League universities at the center of a billowing storm over the use in anthropology teaching of the bones of an African American child killed by Philadelphia police in 1985 have apologized for the “serious error”, promising to return the human remains to relatives who never consented to the practice.

Hungary Transfers 11 Universities to Foundations Led by Orban Allies

"Critics immediately denounced the move as a government handover of both public education and a vast network of public assets — including real estate and shares in Hungarian companies — to Mr. Orban and his supporters."

Hank Azaria Apologized for Playing Apu on ‘The Simpsons.’ I Accept

An Indian American actress reflects on the impact of 30 years of the character of Apu on the wildly popular show, arguing it enshrined a performance akin to minstrelsy as the dominant view of South Asians in American culture. 

‘Citizen Kane’ Is No ‘Paddington 2,’ Says Rotten Tomatoes

A recently unearthed negative review of "Citizen Kane" bumped the film classic out of Rotten Tomatoes' "100% Club" of films, and placing it behind some unlikely competitors, including "Paddington 2" and "Toy Story." 

Linfield University Fires Professor who Spoke Out against Sexual Misconduct, Raised Allegations against President

"Linfield University on Tuesday fired English professor Daniel Pollack-Pelzner, a public advocate for students and faculty who had complained about alleged sexual abuse by board trustees."

France Arrests Ex-Members of Italy Extremist group Red Brigades

Alleged members of the leftist terror group had been harbored in France under policies of its former Socialist president François Mitterand, with the proviso that such sanctuary was only for those who had not been involved in violence. 

The Black Panther Party Has Never Been More Popular. But Actual Black Panthers Have Been Forgotten

"What do veteran Panthers—some of whom are now at an advanced age and fighting to make ends meet after spending more than half their lives in prison—think of this recent boom in artistic and commercial interest?"

KC Tributes to Baseball Great Satchel Paige are Crumbling. Can His House be Saved?

Without a significant financial benefactor, it is unlikely that the Kansas City home of baseball legend Satchel Paige will be preserved. 

Split-Second Decisions: How a Supreme Court Case Shaped Modern Policing

The SCOTUS decision in Graham v. Connor granted broad deference to police officers' judgment about the necessity of use of force; activists now recognize the decision as an impediment to prosecuting officers for abusive actions. 

Tribes Want Medals Awarded for Wounded Knee Massacre Rescinded

"To date, the nation has awarded more than 3,500 Medals of Honor, including about 400 to soldiers who fought during campaigns against Native Americans.... no medals awarded for service in the Indian campaigns have been revoked."

JFK Saw Irish Language Revival as ‘A Waste of National Efforts’

Though his election created great enthusiasm in Ireland, John F. Kennedy did not agree with the cultural nationalist project of reviving the Irish language that was dear to Irish leader Eamon De Valera. 

Hester Ford, Oldest Living American, Dies At 115 (Or 116)

Hester Ford lived through sharecropping, the 1918 flu pandemic, the Great Depression, World War I and II, Jim Crow laws, the civil rights movement and the coronavirus pandemic.

Does a President’s First 100 Days Reveal Anything About the Next Four Years?

Does a President's "First 100 Days" really tell anything useful about the course of a presidency? PBS News Hour compares Biden to some past Presidents. 

Decades After Police Bombing, Philadelphians ‘Sickened’ by Handling of Victim’s Bones

"Anguish came surging back when officials at two Ivy League universities acknowledged that anthropologists had been passing the bones of a young bombing victim between them for the last 36 years."

Allon Schoener, 95, Dies; Curator Caught in Furor Over ‘Harlem’ Show

Schoener always insisted that critics misunderstood the purpose of the exhibition, which didn't include original paintings by Black artists but did highlight African American photographers. But with distance from the furor, he dismissed claims that he was an early victim of "cancel culture" by recognizing controversy as the price of progress. 

The Woman Who Shattered the Myth of the Free Market

Joan Robinson theorized the problem of monopsony as workers attempting to sell their labor are hurt by the small number of buyers. 

In Poland, an L.G.B.T.Q. Migration As Homophobia Deepens

People leaving Poland for better economic opportunities within the European Union have been joined by gay and lesbian Poles who experience increasing hostility at home. 

Behind ‘Strange Fruit,’ Billie Holiday’s Anti-Lynching Anthem

In 2021, as the nation continues to reckon with a series of killings of unarmed Black people by the police, “Strange Fruit” has maintained its place in the national conversation about racism.

Walter Mondale Remade the Vice Presidency

by Stuart E. Eizenstat

"Walter Mondale created the modern vice presidency out of a position that was an afterthought at the Constitutional Convention. Mondale was a great public servant and a decent man, and his death comes at a time when his progressive politics have gotten a second breath in the Democratic Party."