July 19, 2021 The Writer’s Almanac “It’s the anniversary of the first women’s rights conference in history, organized in Seneca Falls, New York, in 1848. It was organized by Elizabeth Cady Stanton and her friend Lucretia Mott. They had been getting together frequently to talk about the abuses they suffered as women and they finally decided […]
July 16, 2021 Astrid Kayembe, Memphis Commercial Appeal Ida B. Wells‘ 159th birthday was celebrated in Downtown Memphis this year, with a parade and the unveiling of her life-size bronze statue. Michelle Duster, president of the Ida B. Wells Foundation of Chicago [and Wells’ great grand-daughter], thanked the people who have been carrying on Wells’ legacy through […]
July 14, 2021 Ted Loos, New York Times The MacArthur Fellows Program is celebrating 40 years of commitment to recognizing extraordinarily creative individuals and highlighting the various ways recipients pursue their creative ideas, cultivate cross-disciplinary collaborations, and inspire us all with their field-changing endeavors. As part of this milestone anniversary, 29 MacArthur Fellow artists are taking part […]
July 07, 2021 Nicole Chavez, CNN With two key voting rights bills stalled in the U.S. Senate, a July U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing voter restrictions in Arizona, and barriers to voting being passed in many other states, the right to vote in this country remains elusive. This, despite the fact that the Fifteenth Amendment to the Constitution was […]
June 25, 2021 Bill McKibben, New York Times “Indigenous and environmental activists fighting against the Line 3 tar sands pipeline were outraged Thursday after the Biden administration filed a legal brief backing the federal government’s 2020 approval of the project under former President Donald Trump. “Critics of the project—which Canadian energy giant Enbridge has undertaken to […]
June 19, 2021 “In 1852, Frederick Douglass asked us to define what freedom is to a Black American. “As we revisit his call to action, topics such as critical race theory dominate discussions about how history should be told. But it’s only by exploring the past that we can make sense of the present. … “To observe […]
June 18, 2021 Sarah Jones, HollywoodLife Supergirl superstar Nicole Maines says that she is missing the Los Angeles Pride Parade again this year due to COVID. But, in this interview with HollywoodLife, she says, ““I will always celebrate Pride in my own way. Whether that’s public, whether that’s just in my apartment. I think the work we do is so […]
June 08, 2021 Americans Who Tell the Truth Checking in on Nikki Giovanni today – as she completes another trip around the sun. And still growing strong. The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) and Arts Education in Maryland Schools (AEMS) hosted Giovanni to engage with educators across the state this week, as part of a keynote […]
June 05, 2021 Mark Hertsgaard and Kyle Pope, Covering Climate Now We honor Bill Moyers on his 87th birthday by running this excerpt from the recent story by Mark Hertsgaard and Kyle Pope, the co-founders of Covering Climate Now. The title of their piece is “Call It What It Is: A Climate Emergency.” “TV newsman Bill Moyers likes to tell the […]
June 01, 2021 Elaine Meyers, Auburnpub.com This is a follow-up to our May 21 story about the AWTT-inspired curriculum project at Southern Cayuga Central School in Auburn, NY. In this report, teacher Elaine Meyers relays comments from the students who are studying the twenty portraits from the series that are currently on display at the school, along with other portraits, […]