Country Joe, the Constitution, and “That’s the Way It Is”
Activist and singer Country Joe McDonald had something important in common with the framers of the Constitution. And President Donald Trump recently summed up why.
The (Re)Search for Morayo
It takes detailed research to write good historical fiction, especially if your character is very different from you. The research I did to write about a 16th-century Yorùbá woman took me to some unexpected places.
She Didn’t Deserve to Die
Making abortion a crime does not stop it. In many cases a pregnant woman will take the desperate step of getting an illegal abortion, and in many cases it kills her. That’s what happened to a young woman in a small New England town in 1935. She was my aunt Frances.
In Defense of Prissy: A Different Take on Gone With the Wind
Prissy, the enslaved Black woman who squeals, “I don’t know nothin’ ‘bout birthin’ babies!” has long been considered a cringe-worthy character. But she may have provided one of the most authentic moments in Gone With the Wind.
My Grandparents and the Great Migration
In the Great Migration, millions of Black Americans left the South for other parts of the country. Millions of white people migrated in the same patterns and at the same time, but their experiences were very different. Two of those white migrants were my grandparents.
Juneteenth and White Americans
All of a sudden we have a new national holiday: Juneteenth. Most states recognized the holiday before that, but until this week, most white Americans knew little or nothing about it. We might want to listen and learn for a while before we decide how to celebrate.
Passing Away
When we speak about someone “passing,” we often mean someone has died. It’s also used to mean pretending to be someone you’re not, especially someone Black pretending to be white. The two kinds of passing are more alike than we might think.
Voter Fraud, Political Machines, and Me – Part 2
Voter fraud has been with us since the early days of the republic. It supported a century’s worth of political machines. It’s still with us, although it's harder to do and there's less of it. But it's still an excuse for voter suppression.
Voter Fraud, Political Machines, and Me – Part 1
Stories of voter fraud, machine politics, and other forms of political skullduggery have been a prominent feature of the American story since the country’s founding. When I was much younger, I did some low-level work investigating suspected fraud. Thinking about that has helped me see how things have changed.
White People and State Songs
Most of us white Americans learned an American history that was all about us, white people. The stories, the statues, the books, the museums, even the songs are all about us. State songs that honor the heritage of each state are usually about us, too. And maybe what they say isn't something to be proud of.