The Case for Reparations Is Nothing New
In fact, Black activists and civil rights leaders have been advocating for compensation for the trauma and cost of slavery for centuries.
The Latent Racism of the Better Homes in America Program
How Better Homes in America—a collaboration between Herbert Hoover and the editor of a conservative women’s magazine—promoted idealized whiteness.
Tuskegee University’s Hidden Audio Collections
The archives of the historically black Tuskegee University recently released recordings from 1957 to 1971, with a number by powerful civil rights leaders.
On the 100th Anniversary of the Negro Leagues, a Look Back at What Was Lost
A century ago, teams from eight cities formally created the Negro National League. Three decades of stellar play followed.
How Saint George’s Dragon Got Its Wings
As time went on, the dragons in Russian iconography slowly became more Western in style—just like Russia itself.
Darwin in Love
Charles Darwin, who of all people should have known better, married his first cousin. Did his love for Emma color his later works?
Paul Krugman: Everything Is Political
An interview with the Nobel prize-winning economist on what to do about the “zombie ideas” that animate contemporary political discourse.
The Gospel According to Kanye West
On the making of gospel music, from Gospel Pearls to Jesus Is King.
Four Flowering Plants That Have Been Decidedly Queered
The queer history of the pansy and other flowers.
What Was the Black International?
The twentieth-century struggle for African independence began in Paris salons hosted by the daughters of elite blacks, then travelled by telegram and steamship.