civil war – Contemporary Racism

Civil What?

02/26/2018 by Benjamin Starr

Our high schools just aren’t pulling their weight when it comes to teaching about the Civil War and the role of slavery in shaping American society. A report released by the Southern Poverty Law Center on February 1st found that only 8 percent of high school seniors can identify slavery as the central cause of the Civil War. Not only that, but two-thirds of high school seniors were unaware that it took a constitutional amendment to formally end slavery, and …

White Backlash to Electing Black Politicians – Then & Now

11/04/201211/04/2012 by Connie

This blog entry from CNN discusses how the first Black man to be elected to the U.S. Senate was met with a white backlash that “helped destroy Reconstruction” after the Civil War. It draws parallels between the white backlash then and the white backlash to electing Obama in 2008. What are your thoughts? Is is a reasonable comparison to make? The post quotes a history professor from Fordham who says we aren’t post-racial but we also aren’t going back to …

Lincoln’s Thoughts on Slavery

05/23/201409/23/2011 by

This book sounds like a very interesting read: The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery

Interview with author, Eric Foner, on “Fresh Air” on WHYY: Tracing President Lincoln’s Thoughts On Slavery