This week, we’re sharing stories from Barack Obama, Andrea Pitzer, Hannah Dreier, Ismail Muhammad, Niela Orr, Hanif Abdurraqib, Danielle A. Jackson, and Cassie Owens, and Karolina Waclawiak.
Barack Obama
‘The American People Have Been Constantly Lied To’
“U.S. officials constantly said they were making progress. They were not, and they knew it.”
My Journey to the Heart of the FOIA Request
Fifty years ago, the Freedom of Information Act gave the public access to government secrets — all you had to do was ask. How a simple request became a bureaucratic nightmare.
My Journey to the Heart of the FOIA Request
Fifty years ago, the Freedom of Information Act gave the public access to government secrets — all you had to do was ask. How a simple request became a bureaucratic nightmare.
The Colorblind Whitewashers of American History
Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw offers a sharp rebuke to those who would declare our country “post-racial.”
Celebrating a Second Independence Day: A Juneteenth Reading List
Nine stories that explain the fraught history of the holiday, and the need for celebration.
The Real Obama: An Interview with Pulitzer Prize-Winning Biographer David J. Garrow
The author offers insights into the 44th President of the United States after interviewing over 1,000 people for Rising Star: The Making of Barack Obama.
The Last Decent Person in Washington
Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden is an Obama appointee who embodies the calm, measured wisdom of the 44th President.
Ten Letters A Day: To Obama With Love, and Hate, and Desperation
Jeanne Marie Laskas goes behind the scenes in the White House mailroom where “50 staff members, 36 interns, and a rotating roster of 300 volunteers” read and processed the 10,000 emails and letters President Barack Obama received each day during his eight-year presidency.
The Audacity of Hope: A Reading List on Barack Obama
Of all the articles written about Obama over the years, the ones that intrigued me most were the ones that helped me get to know the man and what he stood for, just a little bit better. With this reading list we remember the man, his time in office, and take a peek at what’s in store after the White House.