How Insurance Companies Used Bad Science to Discriminate
In 1881, Prudential announced that insurance policies held by black adults would be worth one-third less than the same plans held by whites.
A Progressive College’s Complicated Relationship with Race
Oberlin College was founded by religious idealists committed to abolitionism and integration. Then public attitudes began to shift.
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: I Became Black in America
Adichie speaks on the meaning of blackness, sexism in Nigeria, and whether the current feminist movement leaves out black women.
The Bisbee Deportations
According to one scholar, the 1917 deportation in Bisbee, AZ wasn't "about labor relations or race or gender: it was about all of them."
How Antebellum Christians Justified Slavery
After Emancipation, some Southern Protestants refused to revise their proslavery views. In their minds, slavery had been divinely sanctioned.
Recognizing African Americans in the Anglican Church
At the royal wedding, bishop Michael Curry delivered a rousing address, calling attention to the African American experience in the Anglican Church.
How Barbecue Defined America
The barbecue boom in 1950s American was tied to nationalistic concepts of the "perfect family": patriarchal, suburban, and white.
Henrietta Lacks, Immortalized
Henrietta Lacks's "immortal" cell line, called "HeLa," is used in everything from cancer treatments to vaccines. A new portrait memorializes her.
Kendrick Lamar and Black Israelism
Kendrick Lamar namechecked Black Israelism on his last album. The history behind the religious doctrine dates back at least to the eighteenth century.