Melba Pattillo’s autobiographical account of the integration of Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, explores not only the power of racism, but also ideas of justice, identity, and choice.
Arch Oboler’s 1938 radio play, performed by Katharine Hepburn, pleaded with American audiences to offer more aid to Jewish refugee children. It aired as the country debated over the Wagner-Rogers Bill (Joint Resolution 64).
The letter exchange between George Washington and the Hebrew congregation of Newport was not the only landmark event in the early history of America that dealt with issues of religious freedom and identity. Seixas’ letter and Washington’s subsequent response exist within a timeline of many other events during which the newly formed country faced those issues. Continue reading below for information about some of those events.
In 1935, W. E. B. Du Bois published an influential book titled Black Reconstruction in America. This audio excerpt, from a chapter titled “The Propaganda of History,” questions the ways in which Reconstruction was being studied and taught at the time.
Elmore Nickleberry and Taylor Rogers, two former sanitation workers from Memphis, share their memories of the events leading up to the 1968 sanitation strike, as well as their participation in the strike itself.