I suppose nostalgia is part of the human condition. But if so, then the human condition serves a distinctly politically conservative agenda because nostalgia is a no good horrible thing that makes us
This is the grave of James Baldwin. Baldwin was born in 1924 and was raised by his mother and an awful stepfather. Avoiding his enormous, poor, and abusive family, Baldwin spent as much time in librar
The great Dick Gregory, one of the most amazing living Americans, has died. Gregory was both a pioneering comedian who influenced people such as Richard Pryor and someone who was at the front lines of
If you are the Secretary of State for Alabama, well…. After Alabama’s Secretary of State John Merrill promoted the state’s voter ID law at a church service held Sunday to commemorate the
I interrupt my avalanche of work to bring you this delightful story from the post-racial paradise of Mississippi. Along a secluded gravel road that runs between a riverbank and cotton fields in the Mi
The children of Martin Luther King care about one thing: money. That’s why the new African-American history museum at the Smithsonian has no important artifacts from King. When the museum opens
On July 2, 1964, President Lyndon Baines Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act. Today’s post evaluates the impact of Title VII of the law. Title VII prohibited discrimination by covered employers on t
Judith Stein is one of the finest historians working today. Her book, Pivotal Decade, is a superb discussion of the 1970s and the economic shift away from manufacturing to financialization. Critical w