Alex Tizon tells the story of his family’s slave, Lola. A utusan (“person who takes commands”), Lola was given as a gift from his grandfather to his mother in 1943, when Lola was 18 years old. Lola worked — unpaid — for Alex and his family for 56 years. In a turbulent childhood where his […]
Search results
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
A Lie of Creative Rehabilitation in ‘Vacationland’
The prison workshop where your adorable Maine souvenirs were made is more like a factory, and the inmates like slaves.
Posted inBooks, History, Nonfiction, Story
How Diderot’s Encyclopedia Challenged the King
The encyclopedists’ plan to catalog knowledge seemed harmless enough. But what they intended was far more subversive: to restructure knowledge itself.
Posted inBusiness & Tech, Essays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Science & Nature, Story, Technology
We’re Not Ready for Mars
Elon Musk can’t wait to send humans to the Moon and Mars. But before we land ourselves on other worlds, we need to remember how we’ve treated our own.
Posted inArts & Culture, Nonfiction, Story, Uncategorized
A History of American Protest Music: How The Hutchinson Family Singers Achieved Pop Stardom with an Anti-Slavery Anthem
“Get Off the Track!” borrowed the melody of a racist hit song and helped give a public voice to the abolitionist movement.
Posted inBooks, History, Story, Unapologetic Women
The Slave Who Outwitted George Washington
Ona Judge slipped out of the president’s house one night and didn’t come back. But unlike most runaway slaves, she was never caught.
Posted inBooks, History, Nonfiction, Story
Oregon’s Racist Past
Starting in the mid-19th century, and extending through the mid-20th century, Oregon was arguably the most racist place outside the southern states, possibly even of all the states.
Posted inProfiles & Interviews, Story, Uncategorized
Drought In Post-Apartheid Cape Town: An Interview with Eve Fairbanks
United in a common struggle, the drought has leveled the racially divided city’s physical and social barriers in profound ways.
Posted inArts & Culture, Current Events, Nonfiction, Quotes
How Some Apache People Deal with Intergenerational Trauma
In the mountains of northern Mexico, some of Geronimo’s decedents try to forgive the perpetrators of the wars against Native Americans.
Posted inBooks, Crime, History, Story
Monopoly vs. the Magic Cape
Trust busting is a great idea. But would it be enough?
