When Violence Broke Out in Congress
A new book documents the legislative turmoil that led to the Civil War.
Slavery
Witnesses for the Future
Zora Neale Hurston’s drive to tell the story of the slave trade’s last survivor
The Persistence of Whitewashing
How can Americans have such different memories of slavery?
Wake Up, Mr. West!
How Kanye's ignorant comments fortify the most pernicious lies of white supremacy.
No Reconciliation Without Truth
A new museum and lynching memorial in Montgomery, Alabama, constitute a watershed moment in the way America remembers its racist past.
Ta-Nehisi Coates’s Uneasy Hope
The writer's critics call him a cynic. But as a new anthology shows, his thinking has matured in subtle ways over the years.
The Making of an Antislavery President
Fred Kaplan's new book asks why it took Abraham Lincoln so long to embrace emancipation.
The Young Black Activists Targeting New Orleans’s Confederate Monuments
The group Take ‘Em Down NOLA has an ambitious goal—to rid the city of all its tributes to slavery’s defenders.
Divided We Fall
The Founders knew that economic inequality would destroy America's democracy. So why can't the Constitution save us?
Does Neil Gorsuch Believe in Liberty and Equality for All?
The judge's selective approach to constitutional originalism raises serious questions about his respect for the Second Founding after the Civil War.
The Birth of a Nation’s Blunt-Force Trauma
The Sundance sensation may not be great art, but its snarling urgency makes it a movie for our times.
How Bad Is Dinesh D’Souza’s Hillary’s America? A Conversation.
Two lefties discuss the latest "documentary" by the right wing's favorite conspiracy theorist.
Ripping the Veil
Slave narratives have always been popular—and predictable. Can a new generation rewrite the rules?
Thomas Jefferson’s Double Life
A new biography explains the contradictions in a man who defended equality while owning slaves.
When All Men Were Created Separate, But Equal
After the revolution, former slaves and native populations were forced to segregate from the new Republic.
Not All Racist Monuments Should Be Torn Down
Preserving them risks legitimizing white supremacy, but removing them risks erasing our mistakes. Here's a third way.
A Whitewashed History of Credit
A new book ignores the disturbing history of finance in America.
The Anti-Slavery Roots of Today’s “-Phobia” Obsession
Before "homophobia" and "Islamophobia," there was “colorphobia” and “Negrophobia.”
This Is What Justice Looks Like in Saudi Arabia
One Sri Lankan housemaid has been saved from a stoning death—for now. Others are still dying.
Sojourner Truth: Friend of Freedom
The former slave left an indelible imprint on America, despite a series of tremendous obstacles.
