Why is New Orleans a City of Parades?
New Orleans’ ethnic diversity and lack of public welfare programs contributed to a culture of mutual aid organizations—and huge, festive parades.
Plant of the Month: Frangipani
An ornamental plant whose white flowers hang over graveyards and temples in Southeast Asia presents complicated questions on national belonging and religious identity.
Keeping Scores: Unearthing the Works of Black Women Composers
Black women composers have been active in the US since at least the mid-nineteenth century, yet they’re largely omitted from scholarship on women musicians.
Emancipation Comes to West Virginia
The Emancipation Proclamation exempted border states from the demand to free enslaved people. But what about West Virginia, which wasn’t yet a state?
Oyster Pirates in the San Francisco Bay
Once a key element in Native economies of the region, clams and oysters became a reliable source of free protein for working-class and poor urban dwellers.
Marcus Garvey and the History of Black History
Long before the concept of multicultural education emerged, the United Negro Improvement Association pushed for the teaching of Black history and culture.
The Short-Lived Le Navire d’Argent
Despite its short run, Adrienne Monnier’s literary review made its mark on modernist literature, publishing the work of James Joyce, T. S. Eliot, and Walt Whitman.
Reggie Jackson Superstar
Clutch hitter Reggie Jackson dominated baseball in the 1970s as a “Me Decade” athlete who became one of the first sports super-celebrities.
Aphrodisiacs of the Aztec and Inca
Aztec and Inca societies used a huge number of aphrodisiacs, from peanuts to hallucinogenic mushrooms to insect larvae.
The Police Dog As Weapon of Racial Terror
Police K-9 units in the United States emerged during the Civil Rights era. This was not a coincidence.