Florestine Perrault Collins

Challenging Race and Gender Roles, One Photo at a Time

Florestine Perrault Collins escaped the bounds of prescribed gender roles and racial segregation to run a successful photography studio in 1920s New Orleans.
Photograph: Chinese workers  on the Oregon and California Railroad, circa 1888.  

Source: Getty

The Chinese Exclusion Act: Annotated

The passing of the Chinese Exclusion Act in 1882 marked the first time the United States prohibited immigration based on ethnicity and national origin.
Mariel Refugees

How Gay Marielitos Changed Immigration

In 1980, the policy of denying entry into the US based on homosexuality ran smack into anticommunism.
A person in African clothing with New York City in the background

The “Social Distance” between Africa and African-Americans

American popular culture inhibits a close relationship between African-Americans and the African continent.
Robert Mitchum aiming gun over car in a scene from the film 'Farewell, My Lovely', 1975.

QAnon as Neo-Noir

The popular conspiracy theory has intriguing parallels with classic noir by Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett.
A group of Puerto Ricans at Newark airport, who just arrived by plane from Puerto Rico waiting to be transported to New York, 1947

How Migrant Labor Policies Shaped a Latino Identity

When Puerto Rican and Mexican workers came to the U.S. in large numbers, they faced similar discrimination and bigotry.
Juneteenth Emancipation Day Celebration, June 19, 1900, Texas by Mrs. Charles Stephenson

Juneteenth and the Emancipation Proclamation

The emancipation of enslaved people in the U.S. took place over a protracted period. The articles in this curated list dig into the complicated history.
Mount Vernon Fourth of July naturalization ceremony

Celebrating Immigration on the Fourth of July

For many immigrants to the U.S. in the late 19th century, July 4th was deeply significant: Their own home countries were fighting for independence.
Kwanzaa

What is Kwanzaa?

A look at the history of Kwanzaa and how it has evolved since it was founded by Maulana Ronald Karenga.
Mayor John Lindsay at the first public hearing on proposed executive capital budget.

John Lindsay, Last of the Liberal Republicans

Yes, there was once such a thing as a liberal Republican. We take a look at the rise and fall of John Lindsay, former Mayor of New York.