Racism and Discrimination

Sonny Rollins’s first appearance in print, at age 15 (pictured at right), was in an article about his father’s case.

Sonny Rollins Lived to See Justice for His Wrongly Convicted Father Sonny Rollins Lived to See Justice for His Wrongly Convicted Father

The jazz legend fought for nearly 80 years to clear his father of racially motivated charges.

Jun 10, 2026 / Aidan Levy

“The New World,” c. 1546.

The Entwined History of Capitalism and Race in the Americas and Beyond The Entwined History of Capitalism and Race in the Americas and Beyond

Better to start the history of the United States in 1492 than in 1776.

Jun 10, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Bill Fletcher Jr.

A depiction of the tarring and feathering of a British Customs commissioner in Boston.

The Contradictions of 1776 The Contradictions of 1776

From the outset the United States was founded to protect both freedom and slavery.

Jun 10, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Gerald Horne

Commemorative print celebrating the passage of the 15th Amendment.

The Centuries-Long Struggle to Make the Constitution Equal for All The Centuries-Long Struggle to Make the Constitution Equal for All

The effort to transform the United States’ founding document into a vehicle for egalitarian politics.

Jun 9, 2026 / Books & the Arts / Steven Hahn

Muhammad Ali in 1966, the year he refused the Vietnam War draft and filed for conscientious objector status.

Muhammad Ali Died 10 Years Ago. We Still Feel His Loss Today. Muhammad Ali Died 10 Years Ago. We Still Feel His Loss Today.

He was a living sign, to paraphrase the champ, that we don’t have to be the way they want us to be—and his example matters more than ever.

Jun 5, 2026 / Dave Zirin

Mama Never Said

Mama Never Said Mama Never Said

The erasure of black voices didn’t stay in the past.

May 28, 2026 / OppArt / Gia Ruiz

Dr. Harry Edwards is inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in San Francisco on May 15, 2025.

Dr. Harry Edwards on the NAACP’s Call to Boycott Gerrymandering States Dr. Harry Edwards on the NAACP’s Call to Boycott Gerrymandering States

The 83-year-old sociologist and activist reflects on what is missing in the current effort to organize athletes politically.

May 27, 2026 / Dave Zirin

Civil rights, union, and religious leaders from New York City rally approximately 1,200 demonstrators to board a dedicated Pennsylvania Railroad train from New York Penn Station to Washington Union Station in Washington, DC, and march in support of the civil rights bill that would become the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

We Forgot What It Took to Gain Freedom We Forgot What It Took to Gain Freedom

The assault on voting rights should remind us.

May 22, 2026 / Analilia Mejia

Sheriff’s deputies investigate a shooting scene outside the Montgomery County Courthouse, May 13, 2026, in Clarksville, Tennessee.

Chud the Builder and America’s Tradition of White Racial Terror Chud the Builder and America’s Tradition of White Racial Terror

We are not in unprecedented territory. We are returning to form.

May 20, 2026 / Kali Holloway

Undoing the Voting Rights Act

Undoing the Voting Rights Act Undoing the Voting Rights Act

Racists undoing democracy.

May 18, 2026 / OppArt / Brian Stauffer

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