Nov 13 This year, laws with roots to the Civil War prevented 6.1 million from voting By Kamala Kelkar About 6.1 million people who were convicted of breaking laws could not cast ballots because of policies that keep felons off voter rolls. Continue reading
Nov 06 Electoral College is 'vestige' of slavery, say some Constitutional scholars By Kamala Kelkar A lesser-known part of the Electoral College's history: its relationship to slavery in the U.S. Continue reading
Nov 06 In 'Whitman's Descendants,' photographing some of America's greatest living poets By Corinne Segal Photographer B.A. Van Sise, himself a descendant of Walt Whitman, has set out to create a portrait of his legacy. Continue reading
Oct 25 Watch 8:49 How the n-word became the 'atomic bomb of racial slurs' By PBS News Hour Its effect can be explosive and painful: Harvard University professor Randall Kennedy has traced the history of the N-word to understand the evolution of the infamous racial slur. Kennedy joins special correspondent Charlayne Hunter-Gault to discuss this history, including reappropriations… Continue watching
Oct 02 Can DNA tests help repair social ruptures from transatlantic slavery? By Kamala Kelkar Author Alondra Nelson talks about how African-Americans in the past decade are using DNA tests to fill in identity gaps after the Middle Passage. Continue reading
Sep 29 UN panel says the U.S. owes reparations to African-Americans By Eugene Mason The United States owes African-Americans reparations for slavery, a recent United Nations report said. Continue reading
Sep 01 Watch 6:57 Georgetown University tries to make amends for profiting from slavery By PBS News Hour Georgetown University is taking an unprecedented step to respond to and apologize for its ties to slavery. The university will give special preference to applicants who are descendants of Georgetown’s slaves, plans to rename a building in honor of one… Continue watching
Aug 03 Watch 6:52 Imagining the Underground Railroad as an actual train system Colson Whitehead’s new novel considers a startling premise: what if slaves had fled southern plantations via an actual subterranean train? Jeffrey Brown sits down with the author at BookExpo America in Chicago to discuss the challenge of blending fantasy with… Continue watching
Jul 04 Watch 5:24 Why you can't talk about the Southern kitchen without slaves' contributions By PBS News Hour The recipe for the bestselling brand of American whiskey wasn’t simply the invention of its founder — it was greatly influenced by a slave who worked for the distiller. That public acknowledgment by Jack Daniel’s helps raise broader questions about… Continue watching
Apr 20 Watch 6:01 How the AP uncovered secret slavery behind the seafood in your supermarket By PBS News Hour An 18-month investigation into the use of slave labor in southeast Asia to bring seafood to American restaurants and supermarkets earned the Associated Press a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. Since the report was made public, more than 2,000 slaves… Continue watching