What Happens When the Firemen Are Arsonists? - In the past week, two top-20 American banks failed. A bank failure occurs when government regulators determine that the current and likely demand for a return of deposits cannot be met. When this determination is made, the feds enter the picture and declare the bank insolvent, order it to close, and go running to the […]
W.E.B. Du Bois’s Little-Known, Arresting Modernist Data Visualizations of Black Life for the World’s Fair of 1900 - In a recent research visit to the Emily Dickinson museum and archives in Amherst, I chanced upon a most improbable discovery of forgotten, pioneering work by another titan of culture. When thirty-one-year-old W.E.B. Du Bois (February 23, 1868–August 27, 1963) heard that the World’s Fair to be held in Paris in 1900 would include a special exhibition […]
Michigan Is Headed Back to Rust Belt Poverty - Since the early days of Henry Ford, Michigan was the proud symbol of America’s industrial might. But then, starting in the 1970s, things went south — in part because of the might of the unions that ran the state’s political machine. That’s when Michigan transitioned into the sad symbol of closed factories: the American “Rust […]
News From Around the South 3/13 to 3/20 - SOUTH CAROLINA: Avery Research Center Gets $2 Million Grant to Enhance Exhibits CHARLESTON, S.C. — The Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture just got its biggest-ever boost thanks to a $2 million grant awarded by the Mellon Foundation. The money is meant to support the Avery Research Center “in collection processing, digitization, […]
What Happens When The Government Breaks Its Own Laws? - Five members of the Proud Boys are currently on trial for sedition in federal court in Washington, D.C. Sedition is a conspiracy to overthrow the federal government by the use of force. This case stems from the events of Jan. 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol. During the trial, an FBI agent inadvertently admitted that […]
