Court Trials: The Plot Drives the “Story”
Trials create narratives that are "plot-driven." When judges attempt to see them as "character-driven," real people can be denied justice.
Drafting a Constitution: Thurgood Marshall in Kenya
In 1960, before his nomination as a US Supreme Court justice, Thurgood Marshall helped frame the constitution that would serve a new country.
How Film Ads Were Part of the Fight Against Segregation
In the Jim Crow era, Black film theaters were left out of the "first-run" distribution channels. Theater owners used creativity to attract their audiences.
The National Vaccine Institute and Vaccination For All
The early US fight against smallpox was helped by the establishment of the National Vaccine Institute, an agency that wouldn't survive government mistrust.
The Dorr Rebellion for Voting Rights
In 1842, an attempt to enfranchise all men in Rhode Island resulted in two governors, two constitutions and what we now know as the Dorr Rebellion.
Where Did Family-Bible Genealogies Come From?
Royal lineage tracing, British laws of inheritance, and patriarchal Protestantism all contributed to the genealogical literacy of some Americans.
Independent Voices of the Black American Press
The digitized newspapers in this open access collection offer insight into the country’s diverse civil rights movements following the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
Whatever Happened to Evangelical Feminism?
From Christianity’s beginnings, the religion has been split between two visions of gender relations.
Remembering Emmett Till in Song
The murder of Emmett Till has been memorialized in song by such artists as Langston Hughes and Bob Dylan.
The Female Husband is So Eighteenth Century
Henry Fielding's novel, a fictional account of the life of Charles Hamilton, conflates vagrancy with sexual, gender, and religious deviance.