In July 2021, Illinois set a historic benchmark and became the first state in the United States to require its public schools to teach Asian American history. And now, New Jersey is poised to follow in its footsteps with similar state education requirements. Tat Bellamy-Walker of NBC News reported that…
Tag: History
City of Montgomery, Alabama Faces $25,000 State Fine for Changing Street Named After a Confederate Leader
Despite a state law designed to “protect” longstanding Confederate monuments and memorials, the city of Montgomery, Alabama, has decided that it would rather incur a fine than continue going on with a city street named after President of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865, Jefferson Davis. Kim Chandler of…
ACLU Sues Oklahoma Over Law Prohibiting Teaching of Critical Race Theory
The fight against the concept of critical race theory and the “danger” it supposedly poses to American schools continues, this time with a new ACLU lawsuit against the state of Oklahoma. CNN’s Madeline Holcombe has reported that “a group of students and educators have filed a complaint challenging an Oklahoma…
NYC City Council Votes To Remove Controversial Thomas Jefferson Statue
President Thomas Jefferson remains a controversial historical figure for a number of reasons, including his dark past as a slave owner. And now, officials in New York City have decided to remove a high-profile statue of the founding father from the place it has stood for more than 100 years….
Engineer Marian Croak and Ophthalmologist Patricia Bath Will Become First Black Women Inducted into The National Inventors Hall of Fame
Over 600 inventors have been inducted into The National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF) since the Ohio-based organization was founded in 1973. While there have never been any Black women inducted into the group, that will soon be changing. NPR’s Rachel Treisman has reported that engineer Marian Croak and the…
Black Military Members Known As Buffalo Soldiers To Be Honored With Memorial Statue at West Point
As statues of historical figures such as Christopher Columbus and Robert E. Lee — both of whom have potentially racist or otherwise troubling backstories — are regularly being removed from places of honor in urban areas, a new set of heroes we can proudly look up to are emerging in…
California Legislature Votes To Return Bruce’s Beach to Descendants of Black Family It Was Stolen From
In what many are calling the ultimate example of how reparations can and should work in America, the state of California has moved to return a popular beachfront property in the city of Manhattan Beach to descendants of the Black couple it was originally stolen from more than a century…
Civil Rights Leader Rev. Jesse Jackson and Wife Jacqueline Hospitalized for COVID-19
In a disturbing bit of news from the weekend, famed civil rights leaders and two-time presidential candidate Rev. Jesse Jackson and his wife Jacqueline were both hospitalized after testing positive for COVID-19. The Associated Press has reported that Jackson “received his first dose in January during a publicized event as…
Colorado Governor Eradicates 157-Year-Old State Order to ‘Kill Native Americans’
It may have taken over 150 years, but Colorado has finally voided one of the most racist and damning laws in the state’s books: an 1864 order telling residents of the state to kill any Native Americans they encountered. Patty Nieberg of the Associated Press reported that “Colorado Gov. Jared…
Historic 1967 Bogalusa Civil Rights March Honored With Marker Along ‘Louisiana Civil Rights Trail’
Louisiana is continuing to honor its legacy as one of the nation’s birthplaces for the civil rights movement. CNN’s Leah Asmelash reported that authorities in the state recently added another marker to their new registry tracking locations along the “Louisiana Civil Rights Trail,” this time highlighting Young Park in Baton…