Northern Civil Rights and Republican Affirmative Action
One focus of the 1960s struggle for civil rights in the North were the construction industries of Philadelphia, New York and Cleveland.
Marie Curie and Polish Resistance
The two-time Nobel winner helped preserve her native Polish language, and undertook her education, at a time when these acts were potentially treasonous.
The Combahee River Collective Statement: Annotated
The Black feminist collective's 1977 statement has been a bedrock document for academics, organizers and theorists for 45 years.
Julia C. Collins & the Black Elite of the Gilded Age
HBO's The Gilded Age has done its homework on Black History, creating a character based upon real life wealthy Black women of the time.
The Invention of Incarceration
Prisons have been controversial since their beginnings in the late 1700s — why do they keep failing to live up to expectations?
St. Patrick’s Day in Prison
Offhand references to St. Patrick’s Day showcase broader humor, humanity, and history in the American Prison Newspapers collection.
The USDA Versus Black Farmers
Current attempts to correct historical discrimination by local and regional offices of the USDA have been met with charges of "reverse discrimination."
Elizabeth Keckley’s Memoir Behind the Scenes, or, Thirty Years a Slave and Four in the White House
Keckley’s decision to write about her employers from the viewpoint of a household laborer—she was seamstress to Mary Todd Lincoln—enraged audiences.
Race and Gender Under the Big Top
The circus provided opportunities to some in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, but could not avoid the racism and misogynoir of the "outside world."
Feminism, Self-Defense, and (Not) Calling the Cops
The feminist movement of the 1970s worked to raise awareness of violence against women, but diverged on the role of law enforcement in fighting it.