No matter what anyone thinks about the politics or policies of Hillary Clinton, no one can deny that the progress the country has made—in the form of more women elected to high office and more women behind the electoral scene—is rooted in the expansion of access to the vote. But Women’s Equality Day is a […]
To Celebrate Women’s Equality Day, Keep Fighting for Voting Rights Read More »
When it comes to moving past America’s troubling history—written in words and blood—and its struggle to achieve goals of racial equality, young people have the answers, adults have rationalized. The next generations will be better, more accepting of a diverse society because they are already living it, right? Well, no. Dylann Roof, the young man
Sorry, grown-ups. Young people can’t solve America’s race challenges alone Read More »
When she served as a Union spy during the Civil War or returned time after time to lead enslaved people to freedom over trails she herself had blazed, Harriet Tubman operated in stealth. Today she is the center of attention and debate. That’s what happens when an African American icon is chosen to replace a
Harriet Tubman on the $20: Token Gesture, or a Good Start? Read More »
It was a summer that saw a national spotlight turned on injustice, as more than 1,000 out-of-state volunteers joined activists who had been doing the work on the ground in Mississippi with a goal of teaching and registering voters. Just 50 years ago, for a black citizen in many Southern states, going to the local
Remembering Freedom Summer Read More »
In film and onstage, from the perspective of more than 50 years of activism, Angela Davis offers lessons from an organizer.
Activist Angela Davis Reaches a New Generation Read More »
In the past, Rob Portman has supported the federal Defense of Marriage Act, favored a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage and backed legislation prohibiting gay couples in Washington, D.C., from adopting. Now, the conservative Republican senator from Ohio has changed his mind. “I have come to believe that if two people are prepared to
The Case for Empathy—Open Hearts May Open Minds Read More »
In the glow of Inauguration Day spectacle, anyone reading reports might think the news flash of the day – after the second inauguration of America’s first African American president, of course – was Beyonce’s lip-synch-gate. Did the beautiful performer have some help in her rendition of the national anthem? And, by the way, did you
Myrlie Evers-Williams — Making Her Own History Read More »
There the posse of senators stood, facing a bank of microphones and television cameras before the full story was known, criticizing an Obama administration official. That official’s offense? Making statements in front of the cameras and on television before the full story was known. It is the enduring image of the drama—or would it be
On Susan Rice and How a Non-candidate Is Treated Read More »
