I was going through a box of my things while I was home a few months ago, and it was a reminder of how my obsession with baseball goes back to my childhood. Through the years, I have collected countless…
100 Days into the Trump presidency, we are living in the Upside Down
In Netflix’s Stranger Things, the residents of fictional Hawkins, Ind., live right above a parallel dimension known as the Upside Down, a frightening, alternative version of reality. A portal into the Upside Down brings the show’s characters to a place…
Without the Persians/Iranians, there would be no Jews
Twenty-five year ago, give or take, I asked myself a rather straightforward question: “Why is it seemingly impossible to have peace in the Middle East?” After expending a quarter century in research, shedding blood, sweat and tears in the process,…
Firing Holocaust Memorial board members is about changing history’s story
When Donald Trump abruptly fired Doug Emhoff and other Biden appointees from the United States Holocaust Memorial Council, it wasn’t just a petty political maneuver — it was a warning flare about how empire behaves when it fears truth-tellers. This is…
Understanding the background to today’s battles over the Department of Education
In March, Donald Trump dismissed half the workforce at the U.S. Department of Education and signed an executive order calling for the department’s elimination as part of his effort to “send education back to the states.” “Ultimately, the Department of…
Trump seeks to gild American history at the Smithsonian
President Donald Trump’s executive order titled “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” targets the Smithsonian Institution — which has, he contends, “come under the influence of a divisive, race-centered ideology.” This was the 105th of 107 executive orders Trump has signed…
Why history instruction is critical for combating online misinformation
Can you tell fact from fiction online? In a digital world, few questions are more important or more challenging.
Evangelical supporters silent — again — as Trump rewrites Ukrainian history
Evangelical leaders did not jump to President Donald Trump’s defense when he declared Feb. 19 Ukraine provoked Russia’s invasion and ought to accede to Vladimir Putin. His most ardent evangelical supporters were mysteriously silent, and evangelical leaders who have called…
The true reason for the first Thanksgiving is just as relevant today
Growing up, many of us were taught the first Thanksgiving was held in 1621 in Plymouth, Massachusetts, by a group of Pilgrims and members of the Wampanoag tribe. Some of us even held classroom reenactments of the event, donning funny…
The country I know
On Nov. 3, 2020, I was excited about the opportunity to vote for Joe Biden and his running mate, Kamala Harris, a Black woman, a graduate of my school (Howard), for president and vice president. After they won, I was…
How will your grandchildren look back on your vote this year?
Driving around my neighborhood in North Dallas, I’ve noticed an unspoken correlation with political yard signs this fall. Because we’ve lived in the same house for 25 years, I have a pretty good idea of who my neighbors are. It…
Tisby’s new book tells stories of faith and justice
History “has the receipts,” according to Jemar Tisby. “History is just stories, and woe to us history teachers who ever make it boring,” said the professor at Simmons College of Kentucky and author of the new book The Spirit of…