Sweatt v. Painter, 339 U.S. 629 (1950), was a U.S. Supreme Court case that successfully challenged the “separate but equal” doctrine of … More
Author: Michael Ruark
Racist Southern Manifesto – March 12, 1956
On this date, Howard Smith of Virginia, chairman of the House Rules Committee, introduced the Southern Manifesto in a speech on the House Floor. … More
Separate but equal – segregated by “race”
Separate but equal was a legal doctrine in United States constitutional law, according to which racial segregation did not necessarily violate the Fourteenth Amendment to … More
Lawrence Massacre – Quantrill’s raid
The Lawrence Massacre, also known as Quantrill’s raid, was an attack during the American Civil War (1861–65) by Quantrill’s Raiders, a Confederate guerrilla group led by William Quantrill, on … More
“biggest expansion of gun rights” by Supreme Court
In a major expansion of gun rights after a series of mass shootings, the Supreme Court said Thursday that Americans have a … More
First Amendment Protect Lying?
Does the First Amendment protect lying? Depending upon the context, the answer is either “no,” “yes,” or “maybe.” It is … More
U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade
The U.S. Supreme Court officially reversed Roe v. Wade on Friday, declaring that the constitutional right to abortion upheld for nearly a half … More
‘Independent State Legislature Theory’
There’s a thread that links the partisan gerrymandering of congressional maps in North Carolina, attempts to dissolve the Wisconsin Election … More
More than 100 civilians killed in Mali attacks
Government says 132 people killed as armed group attacks villages in in Mali’s central Mopti region. More than 100 civilians … More
Israel’s prime minister is stepping down
Israel’s most diverse government in history, formed for the first time with an Arab political party, is disbanding over a … More
how emancipated people were kept unfree
The actual day was June 19, 1865, and it was the Black dockworkers in Galveston, Texas, who first heard the word … More
230 killed in attack in Ethiopia
Witnesses in Ethiopia said Sunday that more than 200 people, mostly ethnic Amhara, have been killed in an attack in … More
The Page Act of 1875
The Page Act of 1875 (Sect. 141, 18 Stat. 477, 3 March 1875) was the first restrictive federal immigration law in the United States, which effectively … More
Gulag – Russian Concentration Camps
Gulag, acronym of Glavnoye Upravleniye Ispravitelno-Trudovykh Lagerey, (Russian: “Chief Administration of Corrective Labour Camps”), system of Soviet labour camps and accompanying detention and transit camps … More
The Salem Female Anti-Slavery Society (SFASS)
The Salem Female Anti-Slavery Society (SFASS) was founded in Salem, Massachusetts in 1832. It was established by and for free … More
Harriet Robinson Scott
Harriet Robinson Scott (c. 1820 – June 17, 1876) was an African American woman who fought for her freedom alongside her … More
Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe
Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the Beecher family, a religious family, … More
Formerly Enslaved Sent for Africa “colonization”
The biggest question facing the leaders of the United States in the early 19th century was what to do about … More
Hidden Voices: Enslaved Women
Women knew that enslavers valued and depended upon their ability to bear children and increase the slave population. With this … More
The Cult of Domesticity, 1820s – Civil War
Nineteenth-century, middle-class American women saw their behavior regulated by a social system known today as the cult of domesticity, which … More