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History News Network

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Roundup Top Ten for May 15, 2020

We Must Not Forget The Jackson State Massacre

by Robert Luckett

The killings at Jackson State in 1970 should be a reminder that state-sanctioned violence aimed at the marginalized remains a systemic part of American life.

‘Mrs. America’ Reminds Us that More Women in Politics Won’t Necessarily Mean More Liberal Policies

by Leandra Zarnow

The recent streaming hit "Mrs. America" underestimates the influence of New York Representative Bella Abzug on future progressive politics and the complex impact of women's activity in the political arena.

Shanghai’s Past, Hong Kong’s Future

by James Carter and Jeffrey Wasserstrom

The story of Hong Kong and Shanghai isn’t simply a defining story of the last two centuries of Chinese history. It is really the story of all world cities around the globe today: how they thrive and how they decline.

Brave New Classroom: Lessons from the First Six Weeks

by Hannah Leffingwell

This crisis has pulled the ground out from under us all—professors, researchers, doctoral students, and undergraduates alike. But in truth, the weak spots revealed through this crisis have long existed.

Jogging Has Always Excluded Black People

by Natalia Mehlman Petrzela

The most enduring legacy of the racialized experience of recreational running is the surveillance and suspicion to which black people have long been subjected when using public space.

How We Got to Sesame Street

by Jill Lepore

The beloved children's program grew from the need to use the overabundance of televisions to fix the dearth of preschools in 1960s America. Jill Lepore assesses how the show has changed along with society.

Will Covid-19 Lead to Men and Women Splitting Care Work More Evenly?

by Sarah Keyes

History shows men have always been able to handle care work — when they have to.

Flight Status

by Sarah Rose

During the Vietnam War, the women who served on special Pan Am flights flew into a war zone to transport soldiers. Why has their role been forgotten?

An Unlikely Bohemia: Athens, Georgia, in Reagan's America

by Grace Elizabeth Hale

Athens kids built the first important small-town American music scene and the key early site of what would become alternative or indie culture.

How Covid-19 Exposed the Deep Divide between White Rural Georgia and Atlanta

by James C. Cobb

Rural antagonism toward Atlanta has been a defining element in Georgia politics for almost 150 years and today underlies Governor Brian Kemp's potentially disastrous response to Covid-19.