Things Noted Here and There
"Lake Superior State University 2007 List of Banished Words." I'll need to keep my eye on this list. Otherwise, you can call me Dr. Cliché. Thanks to Margaret Soltan at University Diaries for the tip.
On the quilt/code/underground railroad mythology, see the most recent comments by David Blight and Paul Finkelman at H-Slavery. The only really interesting issue in all of this is why we need to believe this nonsense and why it is allowed, as Blight points out, to enshrine itself on and mar important public monuments.
"Historians are the Best Teachers," according to eSolutionsData. Sure we are. Do you need empirical evidence to support an argument? Make it up and eSolutionsData will present it in that official looking form that convinces everyone, except those who read the fine print. I can think of recent examples of some among us who did something very much like this. Thanks to Dr. History for the tip.