In some ways, the current wave of African-American football players kneeling during the national anthem replicates the Bebop revolution that changed the public persona of the black male jazz musician. Now it is black players demanding that audiences recognize that their attitude is not the same as their white peers.
In every decade since the Sheol, the films that resulted reveal wider, prevailing attitudes toward Jewishness, history, memory, and psychological trauma.
In his early work Bernard Malamud used Yiddish constructions and words reminiscent of the Jewish folk tradition of Eastern Europe. But with his first novel, The Natural, he embraced a Midwestern hero, the American pastoral, and a pastime he loved: baseball.
When recognition is embodied, it is nearly impossible to ignore.
Identifying racism is an important step in stemming its tide, but we (and I speak specifically to white people) must be willing and able to consider that racism might look and sound like ourselves.
Diacritical marks might seem like a tiny blip in the larger picture of tumultuous politics and proposed policies that actively harm our minority populations, yet they serve as a reminder of our important presence and contribution to this nation.
Commentators have debated for almost a century the reasons why America entered the First World War. In the wake of the centennial observance, a raft of new books on the subject has appeared. Together they contribute information and interpretations that challenge readers to rethink their ideas about the subject and its significance for understanding present predicaments.
Facts, events, and otherwise little-known bits of information that garland the eighth month.
One politician, once revered and adored, continues his charge to reclaim Brazil’s presidency while facing a 9.5-year prison sentence. The other, a struggling president, maneuvers his way around allegations as he salvages what is left of his presidency. Either way, for both, the clock is ticking.
Despite the easy, pseudo-feminist promotion of Diana as “strong,” Wonder Woman director Patty Jenkins ultimately created a character who can contain a multitude of expressions that can simultaneously reinforce and disrupt typical gender norms.
