Tag: history

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Why we “read books”

During our trip to Washington D.C. a few weeks ago, I picked up a copy of Timothy Snyder and Nora Krug’s On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century. The book is part history book, as the “lessons from the twentieth century” indicates, a part guide to how to work to preserve democracy when confronted with fascism or totalitarianism. Multiple things stand out to … Read More Why we “read books”

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Artwork from the NMAAHC’s “Reckoning” and the National Gallery of Art’s “Afro-American Histories” Exhibits: Part I

During our time in Washington D.C., we visited countless museums, and as usual, countless pieces of art impacted me, specifically at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) and at the National Gallery of Art’s Afro-Atlantic Histories exhibit. Today, I want to highlight a few of the pieces from these museums, notably because the relate, in many ways, to things I have been … Read More Artwork from the NMAAHC’s “Reckoning” and the National Gallery of Art’s “Afro-American Histories” Exhibits: Part I

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“America has not yet changed because so many think it need not change”: My Trip to Washington D.C.

Recently, my son has been obsessed with the presidents, and he has wanted to visit Washington D.C. to see the portraits, memorials, and much more. As a result of his interest, we took a trip to Washington D.C. to visit the memorials and see the sites. Walking through D.C., I started thinking, again, about the ways we construct and interact with history. Specifically, I … Read More “America has not yet changed because so many think it need not change”: My Trip to Washington D.C.

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Chester Himes “Democracy is for the Unafraid”

Chester Himes wrote his 1945 novel, If He Hollers Let Him Go, while living in the home of Mary Oyama Mittwer, a Japanese American author who, along with her family, was incarcerated at Heart Mountain in Wyoming then relocated to Denver in 1943. In 1944, Himes wrote “Democracy is for the Unafraid,” which appeared in Common Ground. Himes saw Japanese incarceration firsthand, and he … Read More Chester Himes “Democracy is for the Unafraid”

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Education and Confronting the Past

A little over a year ago, I started thinking about the connections between the Holocaust and Jim Crow. I did this, partly, because I planned to do a study travel trip to Poland where students and I would explore these connections, notably meeting and working with Polish students who were studying Southern literature. However, that trip did not materialize, due to a myriad of factors. I … Read More Education and Confronting the Past