Month: February 2020

‘You Never Find Quiet Except Under a Tyranny.’ Congress Has Always Been Partisan and That’s a Good Thing.

In the throes of the worst crisis in American history, the Civil War, Democrats in Congress repeatedly attacked Abraham Lincoln as a “tyrant” and even his fellow Republicans questioned his competence and investigated his generals. Beleaguered though he often felt, Lincoln never claimed that Congress lacked the authority to challenge his actions or declined to…

These Overlooked Black Women Shaped Malcolm X’s Life

The anniversary of the Feb. 21, 1965, assassination of Malcolm X was surrounded by a renewed wave of interest in the black nationalist leader’s life and death — particularly with the release of the recent Netflix series Who Killed Malcolm X? and the subsequent news that the Manhattan District Attorney will review the investigation of…

How Black Lives Matter Is Changing What Students Learn During Black History Month

Freshman year can make anyone feel lost, but Seattle teen Janelle Gary felt especially lost when she entered high school in 2015. At home, she watched a wave of gentrification drive change in the historically black Central District neighborhood, and at school, where she was one of the few students of color in an honors…

President Trump’s Take on Parasite Echoes an Old Debate Over the Role of Non-American Films at the Oscars

Nostalgia has been a regular theme at rallies for President Donald Trump since before he was elected — he is, after all, the man who wants to make America great again. On Thursday night, at a rally in Colorado Springs, Trump directed that sentiment at the movie industry, dismissing the South Korean film Parasite, which…

American Women Won the Right to Vote After the Suffrage Movement Became More Diverse. That’s No Coincidence

When the woman suffrage movement first began in the mid-19th century, its champions had all become human-rights activists in the searing fires of the abolitionist movement. In 1838, Angelina Grimké, renegade daughter of South Carolina slave owners, laid down the basics of women’s rights, in her book, Letters to Catherine Beecher: “Whatever it is morally…

‘We Wouldn’t Be Having This Conversation.’ Henry Louis Gates Jr. on America’s Missed Opportunities for Racial Equality

Henry Louis Gates Jr., Emmy-winning historian and head of the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University, tells TIME about the origins of modern inequality, America’s missed opportunities and where the fight goes next. How do you see the state of equality today fitting into the history of equality? One of…

Abraham Lincoln Healed a Divided Nation. We Should Heed His Words Today.

Abraham Lincoln repeatedly tops polls as our greatest and most revered president. But few people thought so on March 4, 1865, when he took the oath of office for the second time. On that day, America was still mired in the terrible war that the Republicans had been determined to wage. The refusal of Southern…

Everyone Knows About Hollywood’s Lack of Representation. This Woman Fought to Remedy It More Than 50 Years Ago

In 2015, the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite went viral as a criticism of the lack of inclusion in Hollywood films. Not only was Selma‘s Ava duVernay missing from the best director category and its star David Oyelowo overlooked as a lead actor contender, every single performer in the acting categories was white. Now as we consider another…

The Coronavirus Outbreak Should Bring Out the Best in Humanity

Pandemics are perversely democratic. They’re nasty, lethal and sneaky, but they don’t discriminate. No matter your age, ethnicity, religion, gender, or nation, you’re a part of the pathogenic constituency. That shared vulnerability, and the resulting human collectivism—a universal response to a universal threat—is newly and vividly evident in the face of the now-global outbreak of…

The Education Reform Movement Has Failed America. We Need Common Sense Solutions That Work.

The education reform movement that started with George W. Bush’s No Child Left Behind law is dead. It died because every strategy it imposed on the nation’s schools has failed. From Bush’s No Child Left Behind to Obama’s Race to the Top to Bill Gates’ Common Core State Standards to Trump’s push for school choice,…

Cory Booker Drops Out of 2020 Presidential Race

Cory Booker’s presidential campaign launched with a flashy video, driven by a biography rooted in an optimism that should have found fertile soil in Iowa. He followed up with grind-it-out work on the ground in New Hampshire, where he racked up endorsements and packed venues. A speech on civil rights in South Carolina at an…

Underdog Democrats Michael Bennet and Deval Patrick Say They’ve Got a Chance in Flinty New Hampshire

The two hardest-working candidates in New Hampshire this primary season haven’t yet made a dent in the polls—but both insist it’s too early to count them out. Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet is drawing a dismal 0%, according to an Emerson College survey, and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick is a statistically insignificant hiccup higher, cornering…

As Race Tightens, Bernie Sanders Attacks Pete Buttigieg’s Billionaire Donor Connections

After an effective tie in Iowa and heading into a nail-biter of a New Hampshire primary, Senator Bernie Sanders went on the offensive Friday against his closest rival in the race, former South Bend mayor Pete Buttigieg. In an address to the Politics & Eggs breakfast—a New Hampshire tradition for visiting presidential candidates—Sanders criticized Buttigieg…

See All the Winners of the 2020 Grammy Awards

The 62nd Annual Grammy Awards took place this year under the shadow of major tumult at the Recording Academy. They also began just hours after news broke that NBA legend Kobe Bryant, his . daughter Gianna and seven others died in a helicopter crash near Los Angeles. Outside the Staples Center, arrivals took place on…

Lori Tan Chinn Is a Scene-Stealer in Awkwafina’s New Series. But the Role Comes After Decades of Harassment and Discrimination

The actor Lori Tan Chinn shared an onscreen kiss with Al Pacino. She had scenes opposite Diane Keaton and Hugh Grant, and roles in Orange is the New Black and Roseanne. Before she moved to New York and appeared in several Broadway productions, Bruce Lee opened for her dance troupe at a Seattle parade. But…