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While Monuments are Being Removed, a Historian Asks Questions

by Andrew Joseph Pegoda

People have a right to walk around their neighborhood park without being terrorized by iconography devoted to people who denied their ancestors human rights.

Will Capitalist Consumer Culture Absorb Another Generation of Protest?

by Walter G. Moss

Do recent protests against the symbols of racism--monuments and statues--reflect a political movement that can easily be absorbed by today's multicultural corporations, or will that energy sustain a push to fundamentally reform American capitalism too? 

The Case for a National Liberation Day Holiday on December 6

by Robert Hardaway

The anniversary of the ratification of the 13th Amendment, which finally eliminated slavery in the entire United States, should be made a national holiday.

Madison’s Sorrow Goes Beyond Pompeo's Dinners

by Kevin C. O'Leary

We are stuck with two major parties and when one party abandons the broad liberal-conservative center, the system stops working.

Has Trump’s Popularity Reached a Tipping Point? Joe McCarthy's Fall May Give Clues

by Robert Brent Toplin

McCarthy rode a wave of bullying and bluster until it broke back on him. Trump has advantages as president that McCarthy didn't, but faces the same problem: his tactics will work until they don't. 

Will George Floyd’s Murder Be Trump’s Undoing?

by James D. Zirin

Donald Trump seems to mistake the temper of the times. Will his instinct to divide the nation be his undoing? 

Liberal Reform Threatens to Expand the Police Power--Just as it did in the Past

by Max Felker-Kantor

The history of liberal law-and-order reveals that procedural reforms implemented on top of a structure of policing that has been empowered to protect property and control “disorder” are not only doomed to fail but will produce the conditions for more protest and resistance. 

Those We Abuse, We Loathe

by J. Chester Johnson

Until white Americans reckon with the significance of white supremacy in America, they will deflect a sense of responsibility by laying blame for black suffering on black Americans themselves. 

In the “Bramble” of Central Park, a Showdown Over Nature and Race

by Douglas C. Sackman

The viral video of the confrontation between birder Christian Cooper and dog walker Amy Cooper in Central park illuminates how nature and race have been constructed in America, giving privileged access to some while turning others into eternal trespassers. 

“A Very Different Story”: Marian Sims and Reconstruction

by David B. Parker

Marian Sims's 1942 historical novel Beyond Surrender was not nearly as popular as Gone with the Wind. But it reminds us today of a history that might have been--both during Reconstruction and in the popular portrayal of the period.

Dear Vice President Biden: Bring Achievers Back to the White House

by Joseph A. Esposito

Joseph Biden is urged to remember John F. Kennedy's admiration and celebration of achievement and Franklin Roosevelt's spirit of pragmatic experimentation in his campaign. Should he be elected, he'll need inspiration to lead the nation out of dire circumstances.

Walter Mondale's Campaign Did Accomplish Something (Ask Joe Biden's Future Running Mate)

by Joel K. Goldstein

Walter Mondale's choice of Representative Geraldine Ferraro as his running mate in 1984 opened the major parties' general election tickets to women for the first time. Will Joe Biden's campaign fulfill that promise this year?

The Twisted History of Domestic Military Intervention

by Alan Singer

The use of federal troops to enforce domestic law and order has usually served the interests of big business and white supremacy; recent calls to send in the troops are not concerned with protecting freedom.

Ghosts of Neshoba: Why Trump Can't Dog Whistle His Way Back to the White House

by Rick Perlstein

Ronald Reagan's notorious "states' rights" pledge in Mississippi in 1980 was actually damaging to his campaign. The Gipper needed all his political skill and actor's discipline to rebuild his standing with moderates while still appealing to resentful white voters. Donald Trump lacks the skill to pull off the same trick.

After Those Cruel Wars Were Over: Lessons from Two Economic Recoveries

by Hugh Rockoff and Mark Wilson

An economist and economic historian argue that a well-planned response to the economic disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic could result in economic recoveries like those that followed the two World Wars.

Viral Consequences

by David Marks

The indifferent response of the Trump administration to the COVID-19 pandemic and the repressive police response to protests are a signal that we need a political and social transformation to address the ongoing global climate crisis. 

Respectability and Remembrance: The Continued Condemnation of Black Resistance

by Anne Stokes

Addressing the full depth of racism and white supremacy in America requires understanding the limits of the non-violent civil rights movements, and the necessity of armed self-defense for African Americans against the violence perpetrated or instigated by whites — including the police — throughout American history.

Let Them Eat Weapons: Trump’s Bizarre Arms Race

by Lawrence Wittner

The Trump administration's stated intention to "spend the adversary into oblivion" through arms buildup is likely to bring ruin to the American public before it harms Russia or China. 

Where Was Such Solidarity Two Weeks Ago?

by Frederick Gooding, Jr.

The author is skeptical of the sudden wave of "performative solidarity" by white individuals and corporate America. Ensuring that Black Lives matter will require solidarity in the long term.

It's Time for White Parents to Have The Talk with their Children

by Roy E. Finkenbine

Many African American parents have a common experience of teaching their children about racism and its dangers. Not enough white parents talk with their children about how racism affects their lives.