White Hollywood’s Romance with the N-Word
It would have been easy for censors to just ban the racist epithet during the classical era of film. Here's why it didn't happen.
Why Were There Still Stories of Blackface in 2019?
One of the minor themes of 2019 was the revelation that various prominent white politicians had once worn blackface. The question is: why?
How Oscar Micheaux Challenged the Racism of Early Hollywood
The black filmmaker Oscar Micheaux was one of the first to make films for a black audience, a rebuke to racist movies like The Birth of a Nation.
Censorship Leaves Us in the Dark
Books and other art are often censored for covertly racist reasons.
“Jokes” about Genocide in Puerto Rico
The resignation of Puerto Rico's Governor Ricardo Rosselló echoes an incident from the 1930s.
The Mob Violence of the Red Summer
In 1919, a brutal outburst of mob violence was directed against African Americans across the United States. White, uniformed servicemen led the charge.
The Untold History of Lynching in the American West
In the aftermath of the Mexican-American War, people of Mexican ancestry were the target of intense racist violence.
W. E. B. Du Bois Fought “Scientific” Racism
Early-twentieth-century intellectual W. E. B. DuBois countered the then-popular idea that African Americans could be scientifically proven to be inferior.
The Racism of 19th-Century Advertisements
Illustrated advertising cards invoked ethnic stereotypes, using black women as foils in order to appeal to white consumers.
What Sports Reveal about Society
Sociologists find that sports are inextricably intertwined with the people, countries, and politics surrounding them.