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The Roundup Top Ten for November 19, 2021

As A White Student in a Mostly Black School After Brown, I Learned Not to Fear History

by Woody Holton

"My three and a half years as a racial minority convinced me that one of the biggest beneficiaries of school desegregation was me."

The Elephant Who Could Be a Person

by Jill Lepore

A petition challenging the keeping of Happy, an Asian Elephant, by the Bronx Zoo raises questions about the legal status of personhood. If it applies to protect the property and civil rights of corporations, can it be extended for the protection of the natural world? 

Today's Educator Shortages are a Product of Decades of Bullying and Ignoring Teachers

by Diana D'Amico Pawlewicz

Again and again, politicians and administrators have implemented policies that make teaching unattractive work, then acted surprised when people chose other options. 

We're Still Living with the Consequences of Letting Iran-Contra Perpetrators Get Away with It

by Zeb Larson

An explainer on the Iran-Contra affair, and why the failure to hold wrongdoers accountable shapes our politics today. 

Are We Witnessing a General Strike Today?

by Nelson Lichtenstein

DuBois's insight that enslaved people abandoning plantations during the Civil War was a form of general strike helps us understand the seemingly unorganized trend of workers quitting their jobs today as a meaningful labor action that points in the direction of economic freedom.

SNCC's Unruly Internationalism

by Dan Berger

SNCC activists' global understanding of the problem of racism, expressed at the height of the Cold War, cost the organization external support, but left a vital legacy for international movements for justice. 

How to Ensure a New Redlining Initiative Succeeds

by Robert Henderson and Rebecca Marchiel

Ensuring equity in mortgage lending requires understanding why the Community Reinvestment Act failed to achieve the same goal decades ago, through a better awareness of the ongoing problems in mortgage lending. 

Why Mislead Readers about Milton Friedman and Segregation?

by Nancy MacLean

"One would think that today the facts about the long struggle of southern white leaders to preserve segregation are so well known that simple fact-checking would suffice to rule out attempts to whitewash their efforts."

Al Levy's Court Martial: An American Dreyfus Affair

by Jeannette Gabriel

Al Levy's court martial exposed the discrimination embedded in American military culture during World War II, and the way that antisemitism informed the way his accusers questioned his loyalty. 

Can Universities Counter the Global Tide of Nationalism?

by Emily J. Levine

Nationalism and a growing rivalry with China have pushed some politicians to reconsider the openness of American universities to foreign students. The history of academic exchange suggests this may be a mistake.