To commerate Nelson Mandela’s fight against apartheid in South Africa, a collection of letters written during his imprisonment was recently published. Critic Tim Adams shares what he discovered about the already well-known leader.
Tag Archives: Historic Figures
A Photographer Follows in Gandhi’s Footsteps
See photos retracing the route of Gandhi’s famous Salt March and learn about the photographer’s experience in this interview.
Adults are remembering Elie Wiesel. But his testimony mattered most for youths.
Elie Wiesel, author of Night and human rights advocate, died in July of 2016. The author of this opinion post suggests that Wiesel’s work has a particularly strong impact on young people.
Before Rosa Parks, A Teenager Defied Segregation On An Alabama Bus
Meet Claudette Colvin, the teenager who inspired Rosa Parks.
America’s First Me Generation
In this book review, Laura Miller draws connections between the Transcendentalists of the 19th century and individualist movements of the 1960s and 1970s.
Abigail Adams, Founding Mother
In this review of Woody Holton’s book Abigail Adams, we learn more about the First Lady who often reminded her husband to “remember the ladies.” Although the changes of her time had yet to extend to women, Abigail Adams was standing up for her own and other women’s rights.
Edith Wharton’s World
In this brief biography, guest curators Eleanor Dwight and
Viola Hopkins Winner share details of the life of Edith Wharton.
Frederick Douglass On How Slave Owners Used Food As A Weapon Of Control
This article examines some of Frederick Douglass’s writings in which he describes how slave owners made use of food (and hunger) as a way of manipulating their slaves.
Anne Frank Who? Museums Combat Ignorance About the Holocaust
Will Anne Frank ever be forgotten? As the Holocaust fades further into history, some historians are working to make sure that future generations don’t get the facts wrong or lose sight of its importance.
Martin Luther King Jr.: Nobel Lecture
In 1964, Martin Luther King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his efforts toward equal rights for all. Read the speech he gave the day after accepting this honor.
Selma to Montgomery March
Watch a video on, and read about, the 1965 Selma to Montgomery voting rights marches.
Marie Curie
Learn about the hardships and decisions made by one of the most Important scientists of the 20th century.
Cesar Chavez
Labor organizer Cesar Chavez was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for working to improve working and living conditions for migrant farm workers. Learn how he found the courage to speak out, organize a farm workers’ union, and lead nonviolent marches and boycotts of California table grape growers.
Activist Ida B. Wells Gets Pulitzer Prize 137 Years After Refusing to Exit ‘Whites Only’ Train
Born a year before emancipation, journalist Ida B. Wells is getting some overdue recognition for her brave and powerful reporting on injustice.
How one journalist risked her life to hold murderers accountable
Journalist Ida B. Wells was as civil rights activist during the late 1800’s. Her tireless struggle for justice helped spark the movement for equal rights.
9 Legends of American Folklore
Folktales show us a lot about who we once were and still are. Check out these descriptions of nine classic characters from American folklore: Paul Bunyan, John Henry, Sally Ann Thunder, Johnny Appleseed, Mike Fink, Pecos Bill, Geronimo, and Old Stormalong. Why were they so famous? Why are they still famous today?
Shakespeare in lockdown: Did he write King Lear in plague quarantine?
One silver lining of shelter-in-place orders is that they might give rise to creativity. Learn more about a popular idea that sets the bar high.
What Does It Mean for America to Put Harriet Tubman on the $20 Bill?
The U.S. Treasury recently decided to put Harriet Tubman on the $20 bill. Click on this link to read a discussion by several writers and editors from The Atlantic about the significance of this change to American currency.
Shakespeare, Lincoln, and Ambition
Abraham Lincoln once wrote, “I think nothing equals Macbeth.” Learn about how Shakespeare’s dramatic exploration of ambition may have affected how Lincoln acted on his own ambition.
Theodore Roosevelt and the Environment
President Theodore Roosevelt was brash, daring, and adventurous. He was also deeply committed to the cause of preserving America’s forests and wilderness. Explore the links in this American Experience website to learn more about what nature did for “TR” and what he did for nature.