How Annie Lee Moss Survived McCarthyism
Moss, a Black government employee with activist experience, was hauled in front of Congress on suspicion of being a Communist.
How Racist Cartoons Helped Ignite a Massacre
In 1898, a North Carolina newspaper cartoonist weaponized white fears and tropes of Black predation to stoke a coup d'etat.
Black Cowboys and the History of the Rodeo
Long overlooked in histories of the West, African-American rodeo stars also faced discrimination and erasure in that sport, too.
Armed Self-Defense in the Civil Rights Movement
When idealistic nonviolent activists encountered violence in the South as they registered Black voters, local leaders lent them protection.
The Conservative Christian War on Rock and Roll
Tracing an early front in the culture wars to a trio of evangelical opponents of rock music in the 1950s and '60s.
Black Caribbeans in the Harlem Renaissance
The "Capital of Black America" was also a world capital, thanks to the influence of West Indian–born artists and writers like Claude McKay.
The Tragedy at Buffalo Creek
The historic Buffalo Creek flood tore through a region often exploited by industry—and stereotyped by outsiders.
How Civil Rights Groups Used Photography for Change
As one activist said, “If our story is to be told, we will have to write it and photograph it and disseminate it ourselves.”
The Meaning of Racist Place Names
In one river town in central Illinois, a wetlands called N— Lake was scapegoated for destructive flooding.