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No ‘Social Justice’ in the Classroom: Statehouses Renew Scrutiny of Speech at Public Colleges

"This flurry of activity, in states like Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, and Iowa, shows lawmakers’ intense focus on campus culture wars amid broader national clashes over how America’s history is taught and remembered."

If Senators Won’t Kill the Filibuster, They Should at Least Sweat for It

by Elie Mystal

The Nation's law and politics columnist Elie Mystal examines the changes in Senate rules that have made the filibuster a low-effort, low-cost, and high-frequency event since the 1970s. Democrats can get more freedom to legislate without abolishing the filibuster if they change the rules. 

Controversial NC Social Studies Guidelines Strike A Nerve With Public And Officials

"Members of the state Board of Education say they’ve gotten thousands of emails about proposed new social studies standards just since last week’s special meeting. The debate over how to address racism, oppression and gender identity is clearly striking a nerve."

Lawmakers Push to Ban ‘1619 Project’ From Schools

"Attempts to ban the materials 'stem from a really unfortunate misreading of the project itself,' said Mark Schulte, the Pulitzer Center’s education director. The lessons aren’t designed to convince students to believe certain ideas, but rather to encourage them to question, he said."

Supreme Court Denies Holocaust Victims’ Property Claims Against Nazi Germany, Hungary

The Supreme Court ruled that despite the evidence of the theft of property from victims of the Holocaust, their descendants could not seek relief against the German government by invoking international law in a U.S. Court. 

New Bills Target Stone Mountain, Confederate Monuments Across Georgia

Two bills would act to broadly prohibit the maintenance or construction of Confederate monuments except in museums or on Civil War battlefields and authorize the state-chartered agency that maintains Stone Mountain Park to remove or modify the park's massive bas relief tribute to Stonewall Jackson, Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis. 

A New Photo Exhibit Looks At Decades Of FBI Surveillance On American Citizens

Christopher Gregory-Rivera's new exhibit documents the FBI's surveillance, in concert with Puerto Rican authorities, of private citizens suspected of involvement in the island's independence movement.

Reintroducing Sonia Sotomayor

by Irin Carmon

After nearly 12 years since her appointment to the Supreme Court, writer Irin Carmon reviews Sonia Sotomayor's role on a changing court and the media outrage over her suggestion that purely color-blind justice is an illusion. 

The GOP Might Still Be Trump’s Party. But That Doesn’t Mean There’s Room For Him

Political scientist Julia Azari, a scholar of presidential mandates, suggests that while the grievance politics Donald Trump exploited will remain part of the Republican Party's strategy, the GOP will probably find another standard bearer; even popular ex-presidents have been eclipsed in their parties. 

Columbia Students Wage the Largest Tuition Strike in Nearly 50 Years

"Organizers say that at least 1,100 students are now actively withholding tuition, and a petition in support of the strike has so far collected more than 4,300 student signatures." 

Hope And Skepticism As Biden Promises To Address Environmental Racism

"The federal government has known of environmental injustice for decades. Presidents have promised to address it. But a legacy of weak laws and spotty enforcement has left Black, brown and poor communities mired in pollution and health hazards."

Texas Attorney General: Collin College Must Release Records of Legislator ‘Contacts’ about Professor’s Pence Tweet

A Texas community college will be required to disclose which state legislators supposedly contacted the adminstration to complain about a tweet by history professor Lora Burnett. The alleged pressure from legislators was a key talking point in administrative actions which Burnett has characterized as retaliation and intimidation against her free speech rights.

Serious Historians are Criticizing Trump’s 1776 Report. It’s How Most U.S. History is Already Taught

by Matthew Nelsen

Political scientist Matthew Nelsen argues that the proponents of the 1776 Commission's "patriotic" history are defending an outdated curriculum against well-founded challenges, not protecting real history from trendy cultural politics. 

What Should Drive Biden’s Foreign Policy?

Columnist and Humphrey biographer James Traub says the former Senator and VP's interventionist liberalism in foreign policy is a model for Joe Biden's administration to reestablish American preeminence in world affairs. 

Five Past Vaccine Drives and How They Worked

"Scientists developed vaccines less than a year after Covid-19 was identified, a reflection of remarkable progress in vaccine technology. But progress in vaccine distribution is another story."

History Shows Americans Have Always Been Wary of Vaccines

Medical historian Keith Wailoo addressed a recent Smithsonian webinar on the history of American hostility to vaccination, joining public health experts. 

Only Accountability Will Allow the U.S. to Move Forward

by Mitch Landrieu

Full accountability for the Capitol Riot is essential lest white supremacists and other extremists take the lesson that their actions are accepted and permitted. The white supremacist massacres of the post-Reconstruction period show that moving on without accountability is impossible. 

Lafayette Parish Library Director Retires Suddenly After Clash Over Voting Rights Programming

A Louisiana library system is under pressure from conservatives to include "both sides" of the debate over voting rights in its public programming. 

The San Francisco School District’s Renaming Debacle Has Been A Historic Travesty

"Our Board of Education chose to ratify each and every finding from the renaming committee — even when historical errors and methodological recklessness was known."

Sun Records, Storied Early Rock Label, Sells Its High-Wattage Catalog

"In the 1950s, Sun Records in Memphis became one of the most dynamic forces in American music, releasing the first recordings by Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and others, helping define rockabilly and rock ’n’ roll."