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We Should Still Defund the Police

Cuts to public services that might mitigate poverty and promote social mobility have become a perpetual excuse for more policing.

A Brief History of Dangerous Others

Wielding the outside agitator trope has always, at bottom, been a way of putting dissidents in their place.
A photo of law enforcement emerging from a hazy cloud on a city street.

Trump Has Brought America’s Dirty Wars Home

The authoritarian tactics we’ve exported around the world in the name of national security are now being deployed in Portland.
An image of the J. E. B. Stuart statue on Richmond's Monument Avenue being removed, its pedestal covered in graffiti.

All Statues Are Local

The Great Toppling of 2020 and the rebirth of civic imagination.
Statue of Francis Scott Key in San Francisco, knocked off its pedastal

whentheycamedown

A collaborative project that set out in the summer of 2020 to document the removal of monuments through both official and unofficial channels.
A man walking by graffiti on a white wall that reads "Why do we have to keep telling you black lives matter?"

What the Protesters Tagging Historic Sites Get Right About the Past

Places of memory up and down the East Coast also witnessed acts of resistance and oppression.
Rapper YG, one of a crowd of people at a protest over the death of George Floyd.

Hip-hop Is the Soundtrack to Black Lives Matter Protests

Songs from Public Enemy and Ludacris have been heard at marches, continuing a tradition that dates back to the blues.
A photograph of Congressman John Lewis.

The Way of John Lewis

Cynthia Tucker shares her hope that a new generation of activists can learn from Lewis' courageous and peaceful fight for “beloved community.”

The Power of Empty Pedestals

After Governor Northam announced its removal, two Richmond historians reflect on the legacy of the Lee Monument.
Lithograph of crowd gathering around a train.
partner

The Great Upheaval of 1877 Sheds Light on Today’s Protests

Spontaneous strikes led by the working class in 1877 resulted in violent clashes with police.
People at a Black Lives Matter protest

The Power of Black Lives Matter

How the movement that’s changing America was built and where it goes next.
A row of police officers with guns

Police Have Long History of Responding to Black Movements by Playing the Victim

Amid calls to defund police, cops are framing themselves as victims. We must remember who is really being brutalized.

The Unpresident and the Unredeemed Promise

A combination of historical surpluses—the afterlives of slavery, of the deranged presidency—has raised the stakes in the present struggle.
Protester holding a "Defund the Police" sign.

Defund the Police

Protest slogans and the terms for debate.
From left, actors Bernnadette Stanis, John Amos and Ja'Net Dubois accept the Impact Award for “Good Times” at the 2006 TV Land Awards in Santa Monica, Calif. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
partner

Television Is Already Moving to Address Racism — But Will the Effort Last?

Past network efforts to address racism faded as uprisings stopped dominating headlines.
Statue of George Washington with an American flag tied to his face to cover his nose and mouth, like a covid mask or a gag.

Direct Action and the Rejection of Monumental History

As people have gathered across the country to oppose police violence, they have targeted statues, monuments, and buildings commemorating white supremacy.
Armed military police in riot gear blocking demonstrators near the White House, June 3, 2020.

When Police Treat Protesters Like Insurgents, Sending in Troops Seems Logical

Militarized police forces laid the groundwork for using troops to quell protest.
D.C. National Guard members stand on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
partner

President Trump Can Send the Military to Police Americans, but is Doing so Wise?

The history of using militarized force domestically.

A 'Hamilton'-esque Scandal Helped Give Trump his Cudgel

On the origins of the Insurrection Act, which allows the president to call on federal troops and state militias to put down insurrections.

Confederate Monuments Haunt American Democracy

Why Southerners protesting structural racism in the criminal justice system have turned time and again to the monuments in their communities.

The Double Standard of the American Riot

The nationwide protests against police killings have been called un-American by critics, but rebellion has always been used to defend liberty.

Will Urban Uprisings Help Trump? Actually, They Could Be His Undoing.

As a historian, I’ve spent a lot of time looking at the fallout from Watts and other rebellions.
A line of people swearing in as Ghanaian citizens.

The Land Disputes Facing African Americans in Ghana

Locals complain of losing out as wealthier ‘returnees’ from abroad secure prime real estate.
A drawing of a skeletal hand erupting from the ground and separating a house with a Harris/Walz sign and a house with a Trump/Vance sign. Face masks float in the wind.

There’s a Very Specific Issue Haunting This Election. No One Is Talking About It.

You can bury it. But you can’t escape it.
Streetlamps and red trail lights glow in a dark city street.

A Nation of Cop Cities

The push to build large police training facilities follows on a long history of armories as both symbols and manifestations of state power.
Demonstrators holding signs at George Floyd protest in NYC, 2020.

Americans Used to Unite Over Tragic Events − and Now Are Divided By Them

Tragedy seldom unifies Americans today.

Virginia School Board Votes to Restore Names of Confederate Leaders to Schools

In the wake of George Floyd’s murder, a school board in Virginia stripped the names of Confederate military figures from two schools.

The Forgotten Lessons of Truly Effective Protest

Organizing is a kind of alchemy: it turns alienation into connection, despair into dedication, and oppression into strength.
Martin Luther King Jr. giving a speech.
partner

The Problem With Comparing Today's Activists to MLK

Media coverage of the civil rights movement is a reminder that the deification of King has skewed public memory.
Costumed re-enactors at the Boston Tea Party Ships and Museum in Boston.

The Boston Tea Party Turns 250

How does the most famous act of politically motivated property destruction in American history speak to our own polarized moment?

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