Harvey Milk’s Gay Freedom Day Speech: Annotated
Five months before his assassination in 1978, Harvey Milk called on the president of the United States to defend the rights of gay and lesbian Americans.
Grand Illusions
By the time L. Frank Baum introduced the world to Dorothy and the gang, he’d already made his name as a shop window dresser par excellence.
The Living Newspaper Speaks
Scripted from front-page news, the Federal Theatre Project’s Living Newspaper plays were part entertainment, part protest, and entirely educational.
The Nation of Islam’s Role in US Prisons
The Nation of Islam is controversial. Its practical purposes for incarcerated people transcend both politics and religion.
When Statutory Rape Laws Led to Forced Marriages
In early 20th-century New York, men accused of "ruining" women under eighteen could avoid prosecution by marrying them.
QAnon as Neo-Noir
The popular conspiracy theory has intriguing parallels with classic noir by Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett.
The Mediums Who Helped Kick-Start the Oil Industry
Apparently some people communed with spirits to locate the first underground oil reserves.
Patriotism and the LGBTQ+ Rights Movement
Charged with being "un-American" during the Cold War, activists appealed to American ideals in their quest for full citizenship.
When the CIA Was Everywhere—Except on Screen
Hollywood was just fine avoiding all portrayals of the Central Intelligence Agency for years after the agency's founding in 1947.
Black Images and the Politics of Beauty
How Black-owned charm schools and modeling agencies challenged stereotypes of African American women after World War II.