It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me
Rock and R&B have been considered separate genres for decades. But why?
Parents’ Rights, Sex, and Race in 1970s Florida
Save Our Children is remembered as an effort to keep gay people out of public life. But it was also rooted in the movement against school integration.
The Meaning of Tanning
The popularity of tanning rose in the early twentieth century, when bronzed skin signaled a life of leisure, not labor.
A Colorblind Compromise?
“Colorblindness,” an ideology that denies that race is an organizing principle of the nation’s structural order, reaches back to the drafting of the US Constitution.
Race, Rock, and Breaking Barriers
The rock music industry brought more than a little racism to the radio, but a few artists pushed beyond the boundaries imposed by white 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."
Race-baiting the Last Big City Socialist
When business interests tried to use red-baiting to take down a socialist mayor of Milwaukee in the Fifties, it didn't work, so they used race-baiting instead.
The Zoot Suit Riots Were Race Riots
In 1943, white servicemen attacked young people of color for wearing the ultimate in street style—on the pretext that they were shirking wartime duty.
Why Some Black Parents Choose Homeschooling
Homeschooling has proved to be a valued alternative to the institutional racism often found in the classroom. But it offers something more, too.
Integrating Baseball, before Jackie Robinson
Black players were banned from Major League Baseball during the Jim Crow era. Other players walked the color line—gently.