Anne Lays Down the Hardline

07/17/2026

Colorism is a thing

Https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1988-04-24-vw-2472-story.html

Between the hard-driving beat of a rap record and the sugared sensuality of a rhythm-and-blues tune, listeners to KDAY-AM's "Love Connection" hear a sociological drama being played out most weekday mornings.

07/07/2026

https://www.zinnedproject.org/materials/frederick-douglass-meaning-july-fourth

What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim.

To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sound of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants brass fronted impudence; your shout of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanks-givings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy — a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages.

There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour.

Film clip. Voices of a People's History. Frederick Douglass' speech "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" (1852) is read by Danny Glover.

03/11/2026

Some history of blackface and minstrelry in America

In her new book, Darkology, historian Rhae Lynn Barnes writes about how blackface and minstrel shows became one of the most popular forms of entertainment in 19th- and 20th-century America.

02/16/2026

How many of these names do you know?

The Black American women journalists presented here were true trailblazers, each in her own unique way, from newspaper publishing to investigative reporting to foreign correspondence to broadcasting.

It took an inordinate amount of perseverance for Black female journalists to break into white male-dominated fields, at the time that each did so.

The power of language to document news and social issues often affects change. Each of these trailblazers from the past helped open new professional paths for women of all backgrounds to pursue.

For more about the journalists depicted here and four others, follow the link in the first comment.

02/16/2026

History is all of us

10/17/2025

Same story, different century.

08/13/2025

From Heather Cox Richardson:

"Today the administration advanced Project 2025 ‘s determination to reshape American culture from a right-wing perspective when it sent a letter to Dr. Lonnie Bunch, the historian who serves as the secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, informing him they intend to review museum exhibitions, curatorial processes, planning, the use of collections, and artists grants in order to make sure they align “with the president’s directive to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”

Meredith McGraw and Jasmine Li of the Wall Street Journal, who reported the letter, say that the review will focus on the “National Museum of American History, the National Museum of Natural History, the National Museum of African-American History and Culture, the National Museum of the American Indian, the National Air and Space Museum, the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery and the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden.”

Legal analyst Anna Bower notes that the woman in charge of reviewing the Smithsonian is his Florida criminal defense attorney, who joined his team from the field of property law and who, as Bower writes, “didn't like some of the museum's exhibits when she visited after the inauguration so she convinced Trump to sign an executive order putting her in charge.” Also on the three-person team is Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget and a key author of Project 2025."

08/04/2025

Always something more to learn.

In 19th-century Charleston, enslaved people who were permitted to hire out their labor were required by law to wear numbered badges like this one. Issued by the city, these tags identified the type of work—here "Fisher"—but never the person’s name. Instead, they reduced the wearer to a number, facilitating surveillance, regulation, and control. Enslaved individuals found without a badge could be arrested or fined, revealing how the city commodified black labor while denying personhood. You can see this object in my exhibition "Almost Unknown, The Afric-American Picture Gallery," where it serves as a representation of a "Slave Catcher," or "Picture XII."

07/22/2025

RIP boundary breaker.

We’re heartbroken to share the passing of Malcolm-Jamal Warner at 54. The beloved actor, known for his iconic role as Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show, passed away while on a family vacation in Costa Rica, tragically drowning while swimming. His decades-long career included standout roles in Malcolm & Eddie, Reed Between the Lines, and The Resident, as well as a Grammy win for his work in spoken word and music. A true multi-hyphenate actor, director, poet, and musician, he brought depth and power to everything he touched across generations. Rest in power, Malcolm.

07/19/2025

Better late than never.

Urban League says Trump policies threaten decades of civil rights work, calling for a nationwide ‘new resistance’ to systemic rollbacks.