Linda Brown Smith, Ethel Louise Belton Brown, Harry Briggs, Jr., and Spottswood Bolling, Jr. during press conference at Hotel Americana, 1964

Brown v. Board of Education: Annotated

The 1954 Supreme Court decision, based on the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, declared that “separate but equal” has no place in education.
Vincent Mason aka P.A. Pasemaster Mase aka Maseo aka Plug Three, David Jude Jolicoeur aka Trugoy the Dove aka Dave aka Plug Two and Kevin Mercer aka Posdnuos aka Mercenary aka Plug Wonder Why aka Plug One of the hip hop trio De La Soul

Musicians Fought the Law, and the Law Won—Sometimes

De La Soul are known for the effect their use of samples had on their music sales and availability on streaming sites. They’re finally streaming. Why now?
A child being taught how to shoot a gun by his father

American as Apple Pie

How marketing made guns a fundamental element of contemporary boyhood.
A woman holding a speculum

See Jane Use a Speculum

In the pre-Roe era, a collective of women known as The Janes took reproductive health into their own hands.
Former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes in 2019

Court Trials: The Plot Drives the “Story”

Trials create narratives that are "plot-driven." When judges attempt to see them as "character-driven," real people can be denied justice.
A typewriter on a black background

Writing Poetry in Prison as an Act of Resistance

A writer recounts her uncle's experiences writing poetry in prison and advocating for Indigenous rights. His death and his typewriter are intertwined.
The head of school security, and a Miami-Dade Police officer stand at the front entrance to the Kenwood K-8 Center on August 24, 2018 in Miami, Florida.

Why Do We Have Cops in Schools?

In the mid-1970s, police officers were in only about 1 percent of US schools. That changed since the late 1990s.
Tough Mudder

When Sports Have “Death Waivers”

Obstacle courses can draw thousands of participants to a single event, but legal scholars say they need scrutiny.
A RSS symbol

What Happened to Tagging?

Tags decentralized and democratized the organization of information. What became of "social tagging?"
trial by combat

Trial by Combat? Trial by Cake!

The medieval tradition of deciding legal cases by appointing champions to fight to the death endured through 1817, unlike its tastier cousin.