In March of 2014, an epidemic of the viral hemorrhagic disease Ebola began spreading in West Africa. By late summer and fall, Ebola had become pandemic in the region and became the focus of international concern.
Behind the News
The Lessons of Pullman, A. Philip Randolph, Workers, and America
President Barack Obama came to Chicago on Thursday, February 19, to designate a 300-acre portion of the Pullman neighborhood of Chicago as a national monument. Pullman has no mountains, lakes, or rivers to justify its monument status; rather, it has a distinctive history.
The Snows of History
The greater Boston area has just experienced the snowiest February in its recorded history, and we are only a few inches shy of setting a record for the snowiest winter of all time.
Sticks, Stones, and American Exceptionalism
On February 18, 2015, in a fundraiser for Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, former Mayor of New York City Rudolph Giuliani joined the parade of accusers in American politics – accusing President Obama of not loving this country.
President Obama, the National Prayer Breakfast, and Slavery
The controversy over President Obama’s remarks at last week’s National Prayer Breakfast is a strange one.
Martin Luther King and the Compassionate Revolution
Fifty years ago, the Civil Rights Movement forced Americans to have serious and difficult conversations about race.
The Grand Jury Must Be More Democratic
The failure of grand juries in St. Louis County, Missouri, and Staten Island, New York, to indict white police officers for the deaths of African-Americans Michael Brown and Eric Garner has prompted calls to abolish the grand jury.
The King Holiday and Its Opponents: The Struggle Continues
Every January since 1986, when the Martin Luther King Holiday Act went into effect, Americans have taken a day off to ski and shop.
Inspiring Yosemite
For the past three weeks, Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson have been free climbing the “Dawn Wall” in Yosemite Park.
The True Story of Cuban-American Diplomatic Relations
When President Obama announced this week that he was normalizing diplomatic relations with Cuba, pundits agreed that U.S. and Cuban leaders had finally marked the end of the Cold War.