3,903 words
Of all the towering luminaries of the civil rights movement, Dr. Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) stands out as the most notable. In fact, it’s hardly too much to say that his name was practically synonymous with the movement itself during the tumultuous times in which his presence so galvanized the country. Who could deny that his deeds changed America profoundly, and without them, that things might be much different? (more…)
Phyllis Schlafly’s critique of the Republican Party changed its focus and direction.
2,020 words
Phyllis Schlafly
A Choice Not an Echo
Alton, Ill.: Pere Marquette Press, 1964
Many of the greatest pioneers of Right-wing political thought in the United States are women. Right-leaning men are often too busy with their jobs and putting out the fires to be prophets. Female activists, for their part, have a remarkable ability to challenge and change the direction of institutions. One such woman was Phyllis Schlafly (1924-2016). (more…)
German school in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 1866
1,455 words
Where do decent white folks go from here, when it’s all but too late?
What is their life going to be like when the demographic scales are tipped and the usual pathways to success and respect are blocked by the unforgiving, power-thirsty trolls drunk on woke? (more…)
1,457 words
1970’s Halls of Anger is low-budget, tense, sensational, but real. Calvin Lockhart plays Quincy Davis, an ex-basketball star who’s happy teaching in a suburban high school until integration comes and he’s reassigned to a ghetto school, as are several white students. The principal, Boyd Wilkerson (John McLiam), couldn’t care less about his students; he wants more federal money (from integration) and a chance to get elected to the school board. (more…)
2,628 words
Kevin M. Kruse & Julian E. Zelizer
Fault Lines: A History of the United States Since 1974
New York: Norton & Company, Inc., 2019
Professors Kevin Kruse and Julian Zelizer have written a book in which they argue that the fault lines of America’s polarized political culture started to emerge around 1974. (more…)
Robert F. Kennedy eulogizes Martin Luther King on April 4, 1968
1,406 words
It’s a take as old as time: “our leaders divide us by race to stay in power.”
The take resonates with a lot of Americans. We’re instructed to believe we would all get along if it weren’t for meddling politicians and conniving journalists. Black, white, red, yellow — what’s the real difference to the average Joe? (more…)
Sen. Jesse Helms on the cover of Time, September 14, 1981.
5,765 words
Part 1 here
Editor’s note from the foreword by Beau Albrecht: The following Jesse Helms speech was recorded in the Congressional Record, volume 129, number 130 (October 3, 1983): S13452-S13461. It’s available in hardcopy as a rare book, Martin Luther King Jr., Political Activities and Associations. For further context, hyperlinks and a captioned photo are added here.
C. Internal Documents of SCEF (more…)
The late Senator Jesse Helms (R — North Carolina)
6,531 words
Foreword by Beau Albrecht
It’s Black History Month, an occasion to celebrate the remarkable race that’s done so much to make America what it is today. With so many towering giants of history to remember, where does one begin? Looking to the past, there is Harriet Tubman; imagine Obersturmbannführer Otto Skorzeny as a black lady from Philadelphia. (more…)
1,429 words
One of President Trump’s last acts in office offered his view of American history. Just a few days before Joe Biden’s inauguration, the Trump administration released both the 1776 Commission Report and the list of statues for the proposed National Garden of American Heroes. (more…)
2,289 words
Anyone who remembers the 1980s can recall exactly what they were doing when the space shuttle Challenger exploded just 73 seconds after lifting off on January 28, 1986. People at the Florida launch site openly wept, pounded their fists on the hoods of their cars, and held each other. Schoolchildren looked at the televised images of the disaster with horror. The news media went into a frenzy, and President Reagan delivered a televised eulogy that evening that was probably his best speech ever. (more…)
2,924 words
A crime scene. The aesthetics of a horror movie. Sinister music. This is the latest Trump attack ad exposing Joe Biden’s “racism problem,” released a day after rioting in Chicago. The Trump campaign is engaging in offense archaeology, digging up a Biden statement from all the way back in 1973. Other Trump ads criticized Biden’s (more…)
4,280 words
Theodore G. Bilbo
Take Your Choice: Separation or Mongrelization
Poplarville, Mississippi: Dream House (1947)
The final political testament by Senator Bilbo of Mississippi, Take Your Choice, is a useful opportunity to see how well old documents stand in the light of the present day. (more…)