reputation — Bunk History

Viewing 151–180 of 632 results. Go to first page

President John F. Kennedy meets with William Fitzjohn, Sierra Leone's charge d’affairs in Washington, in the Oval Office on April 27, 1961.

The African Diplomats Who Protested Segregation in the U.S.

Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy publicly apologized after restaurants refused to serve Black representatives of newly independent nations.

by Francine Uenuma via Smithsonian on February 24, 2023

Illustration of Abraham Lincoln writing the Emancipation Proclamation.

Abraham Lincoln Is a Hero of the Left

Leftists have regarded Lincoln as a pro-labor hero who helped vanquish chattel slavery. We should celebrate him today within the radical democratic tradition.

by Matthew E. Stanley via Jacobin on February 20, 2023

Benjamin Franklin playing chess with Lady Caroline Howe while Admiral Lord Richard Howe looks on, London, December 1774; watercolor circa 1875–1885

Commanders and Courtiers

Lost wars, especially when defeat comes as a rude surprise, inevitably spark painful self-examination.

by T. H. Breen via New York Review of Books on February 2, 2023

Buckminster Fuller looking at a model of a geodesic dome.

Buckminster Fuller’s Hall of Mirrors

Alec Nevala-Lee’s new biography assesses the complicated legacy of an architect better known for his image than his work.

by Daniel Luis Martinez via The Nation on February 1, 2023

Image of Black Seminoles Plenty Payne, Billy July, Ben July, Dembo Factor, Ben Wilson, John July, William Shields.

The Life of Louis Fatio: American Slavery and Indigenous Sovereignty

Louis Fatio seized an opportunity to recount his version of his life—a story that had been distorted and used by white Americans for various political purposes.

by Caroline Wood Newhall via Black Perspectives on January 31, 2023

Censored text and George W. Bush with a black bar covering his eyes. Art by Alex Cochran.

What Really Took America to War in Iraq

A fatal combination of fear, power, and hubris.

by Melvyn P. Leffler via The Atlantic on January 23, 2023

Fossils in an exhibit demonstrating the evolution of horses.

The Bitter Dinosaur Feud At The Heart of Palaeontology

As two warring bone hunters sought to destroy each other, they laid the foundations for our knowledge of dinosaurs.

by Martha Henriques via BBC News on January 19, 2023

Buster Keaton holds himself up against two walls.

Puzzled Puss: Buster Keaton’s Star Turn

Keaton had been on the stage longest, risen the highest, fallen the furthest, and left the most indelible legacy.

by John Lahr via London Review of Books on January 19, 2023

J. Robert Oppenheimer.

J. Robert Oppenheimer Cleared of “Black Mark” Against His Name After 68 Years

Manhattan Project physicist was infamously stripped of his security clearance in 1954.

by Jennifer Ouellette via Ars Technica on December 25, 2022

Corporate executives sitting on musicians

Ticketmaster’s Dark History

A 40-year saga of kickbacks, threats, political maneuvering, and the humiliation of Pearl Jam.

by Maureen Tkacik, Krista Brown via The American Prospect on December 21, 2022

U.S. soldiers providing sniper coverage for a meeting in Kandahar, January 2013

The High Cost of American Heavy-Handedness

Great-power competition demands persuasion, not coercion.

by Douglas London via Foreign Affairs on December 20, 2022

Frank Shakespeare in 1968.

Frank Shakespeare, Nixon TV Guru Who Redefined Political Ads, Dies At 97

Mr. Shakespeare's team oversaw ads and on-air events that reflected the rising power of television as a political tool.

by Brian Murphy via Washington Post on December 17, 2022

J. Edgar Hoover collage.

J. Edgar Hoover’s Long Shadow

The FBI’s first director built the agency around some of his own worst instincts.

by Michael Kazin via The New Republic on December 9, 2022

Titian room at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, 1903.

It Belongs in a Museum

Isabella Stewart Gardner builds a place to house her art.

by Nathaniel Silver, Diana Seave Greenwald via Lapham’s Quarterly on December 7, 2022

White students, including Jerry Jones, at Arkansas' North Little Rock High blocked the doors of the school Sept. 9, 1957, denying access to six Black students.

Jerry Jones Helped Transform the NFL, Except When It Comes To Race

Decades after the segregation battles of his youth, Jerry Jones has modernized the NFL’s revenue model but hasn’t hired a Black head coach.

by David Maraniss, Sally Jenkins via Washington Post on November 23, 2022

J. Edgar Hoover in 1924.

How J. Edgar Hoover Went From Hero to Villain

Before his abuses of power were exposed, he was celebrated as a scourge of Nazis, Communists, and subversives.

by Jack Goldsmith via The Atlantic on November 22, 2022

KKK march overlaid on J. Edgar Hoover

How Hoover Took Down the Klan

The FBI’s successful campaign against white supremacists is also a cautionary tale.

by Beverly Gage via The Atlantic on November 20, 2022

Drawing of woman crying over her murdered father.

A Gilded Age Tale of Murder and Madness

In opulent seaside Newport, a wealthy and beloved Black businessman turns up dead. The resulting trial will tear the town in two.

by Kay Adams, Nancy Markey via Narratively on November 17, 2022

Photograph of Donald Trump smiling and giving a thumbs up, with Liberty University president Jerry Falwell Jr. behind him.

A New Documentary Exposes the Truth About the Religious Right

It’s a political movement willing to align with anyone to win.

by Matthew Avery Sutton via Made By History on November 16, 2022

The FTX Arena.

FTX’s Downfall Shows the Problems Exposed by Enron Have Only Gotten Worse

Social media makes it even easier to sell the aura of success that was pivotal to both companies.

by Gavin Benke via Made By History on November 15, 2022

Black and white photo of J. Edgar Hoover sitting at his desk.

J. Edgar Hoover, Public Enemy No. 1

The F.B.I. director promised to save American democracy from those who would subvert it—while his secret programs subverted it from within.

by Margaret Talbot via The New Yorker on November 14, 2022

Lydia Maria Child Taught Americans to Make Do With Less

A popular writer’s 1829 self-help book ‘The Frugal Housewife’ was based on the same democratic principles that made her a champion of the abolitionist cause.

by Lydia Moland via The Wall Street Journal on November 10, 2022

Portrait of Samuel Adams with sunglasses photoshopped onto his face.

How Samuel Adams Fought for Independence—Anonymously

Pseudonyms allowed Adams to audition ideas and venture out on limbs without fear of reprisal.

by Stacy Schiff via Literary Hub on November 3, 2022

Illustration of Crazy Horse

How Would Crazy Horse See His Legacy?

Perhaps no Native American is more admired for military acumen than the Lakota leader. But is that how he wanted to be remembered?

by Pekka Hämäläinen via Smithsonian on November 2, 2022

A lithograph depicting the burning of copies of William Pynchon’s 'The Meritous Price of Our Redemption' by early colonists of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, who saw his book as heresy.

He Wasn’t Like the Other New England “Witches.” His Story Explains a Lot.

The little-told tale of the 1651 trial of Hugh and Mary Parsons.

by Colin Dickey via Slate on October 31, 2022

Illustration of Martin Luther holding an American flag.

America’s Mythology of Martin Luther

Luther is part myth, mascot, and mantle, symbolizing the hopes and sanctifying the heroes of American evangelicalism.

by Obbie Tyler Todd via The Gospel Coalition on October 30, 2022

Jerry Lee Lewis backstage in 1982.

Jerry Lee Lewis Was an SOB Right to the End

Jerry Lee Lewis was known as the Killer, and it wasn’t a casual sobriquet.

by Bill Wyman via Vulture on October 28, 2022

Vice President Harris at the Freedman’s Bank Forum in Washington on Oct. 4.

The Freedman’s Bank Forum Obscures the Bank’s Real History

The bank’s history highlights flaws in using public-private partnerships to address racial inequality.

by Justene Hill Edwards via Made By History on October 27, 2022

photo of C. Vann Woodward, c/o William R. Ferris, Van Every Smith Galleries

What Is There To Celebrate?

A review of "C. Vann Woodward: America’s Historian."

by Eric Foner via London Review of Books on October 20, 2022

Black and white photograph of Loretta Lynn holding a microphone

Personifying a Country Ideal, Loretta Lynn Tackled Sexism Through a Complicated Lens

The singer wasn't a feminist torchbearer, but her music amplified women's issues.

by Amanda Marie Martinez via NPR on October 9, 2022

brought to you by

© Bunk History