Tag: American History
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MAMP Ep # 47: Author Lauren Francis-Sharma Talks Book of the Little Axe
On episode 47 of the podcast I sit down with Lauren Francis-Sharma, the author of the My American Meltingpot Summer Book Club selection, Book of the Little Axe. In addition to Book of the Little Axe, Lauren is the author of the novel, Til the Well Runs Dry, which was awarded the Honor Fiction Prize…
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Celebrating Loving Day is a Blow to White Supremacy
For those of you who don’t know, Loving Day is the anniversary of the 1967 United States Supreme Court decision, Loving v. Virginia which struck down all anti-miscegenation laws remaining in sixteen U.S. states. What that means, is that on this day 53 years ago, it finally became legal for people of different races to…
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May is Asian American History Month. What are You Doing to Celebrate?
Hello Meltingpot Community, Let’s be honest. Pretty much everyone knows that February his Black History Month in the United States. Schools, public institutions, Hollywood. Everywhere in America, February is the Blackest month of the year. And likewise, anyone who has a career based in Blackness, is hella busy all February long. Heck, even Target got…
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Ida B. Wells (Finally) Wins a Pulitzer Prize!
Hello Meltingpot Community, On Monday the Pulitzer Prizes – the Academy Awards of journalism – were announced and one particular award warmed my defiant Black journalist’s heart. Eighty-nine years after her death, Ida B. Wells received a special citation from the Pulitzer committee for her pioneering work in investigative reporting. More specifically, she was given…
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Black History is American History
This essay was originally published on Beacon Broadside in February 2017. I still agree with every single word. February is Black History Month. Personally, I’ve always felt conflicted about a month being set aside to celebrate the achievements of African Americans in the United States, because it seems to suggest that once February is over,…
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African American Culinary History Doesn’t Begin or End with Aunt Jemima
(Note: This post was originally published in 2015, but has been updated.) Hello Meltingpot Readers, I had one of those driveway moments the other day when I heard a fascinating story on NPR. It was about Thomas Jefferson’s enslaved chef, James Hemings. Yes, the brother of Sally Hemings. James was apparently quite the culinary genius,…
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MAMP Podcast Ep. #1: Deconstructing Thanksgiving
Hello Meltingpot Readers, On episode number one of the My American Meltingpot podcast, I am joined by the brilliant, Dr. Crystal Fleming, author of How to be Less Stupid about Race (Beacon). I invited Crystal to join me to talk about what we’re really celebrating when we celebrate Thanksgiving. Hint: It’s not the blessings of…
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A New Film Shows America’s History of Racial Unity
Hello Meltingpot Readers, Today is Friday, so that means I get to share something good. And today’s something is a new documentary set to air on local PBS stations called An American Story: Race Amity and the Other Tradition. The “Other Tradition” in the title refers to examples of people of different races living, loving…
