Trump Administration Kills Michelle Obama's Girls' Education Program, Anti-Childhood Obesity Plan
Welcome to Barf Bag, a daily politics roundup to help you sort through the chaotic Trumpian news cycle.
Reconstructing the Life of Ona Judge, the Enslaved Woman Who Fled George Washington
“Absconded from the household of the President of the United States on Saturday afternoon, ONEY JUDGE,” read the advertisement in Claypoole’s American Daily Advertiser on May 24, 1796. Decades later, she would reappear in abolitionist newspapers the Granite Freeman and the Liberator to tell her own story of her…
GOP Lawmaker Calls Abe Lincoln the 'Same Sort of Tyrant' As Hitler, Thinks the Civil War Was 'Unnecessary'
North Carolina rep. Larry Pittman was evidently not in great spirits yesterday after his unconstitutional bill to restore a same-sex marriage ban in the state was slapped down by the Republican House Speaker. And what do Republican officials apparently love to do when the going gets tough? Make an extremely offensive…
New Jersey Elementary School Assigns Slave Auction Poster Project
Parents of students at South Mountain Elementary School were disturbed when they learned of an assignment recently completed by fifth graders: designing slave auction posters.
Ben Carson Referred to Slaves as 'Immigrants' While Addressing His Department
Welcome to Barf Bag, a daily politics roundup to help you sort through the chaotic Trumpian news cycle.
African Union Official to Trump: You Took Us 'as Slaves,' But Not Refugees?
As Trump’s new Muslim ban wreaks havoc across the world, here’s some real talk (and a history lesson) from South African politician and chair of the Commission of the African Union Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma: “The very country to which many of our people were taken as slaves during the transatlantic slave trade has now…
A Conversation With Beth Macy About the Untold Story of 2 Unwilling Sideshow Stars
When Beth Macy moved to Roanoke, Virginia nearly thirty years ago, a newspaper colleague told her about the best story in town, one that had then gone unwritten: in 1899, the Muse brothers, African American and albino, had been snatched from the tobacco fields of Truevine, Virginia by a promoter and exhibited in…
How the Great Dismal Swamp Hid Runaway Slaves for More than a Century
Perhaps one of America’s most evocatively named places, the Great Dismal Swamp—which straddles the Virginia/North Carolina border—is mean as hell. But the snakes, bears, and the near-inaccessibility made it a refuge for escaped slaves and their descendants.
Do Not Let Yourself Be Trolled By Bill O'Reilly
Last night, Bill O’Reilly did what he does so well: he doubled down on a stupid, trivial argument intended to make more people watch his television show. It, as it generally does, worked.
New Exhibit at Mount Vernon Will Focus on George Washington and Slavery
This October, there’ll be a new exhibit at the historical home of George Washington. Called Lives Bound Together, it focuses on Washington’s role as a slaveholder, as well as attempting to tell the stories of the slaves who lived and worked on the plantation.
What Does Heidi Cruz Know About Slavery That I Do Not?
On a Tuesday conference call with the Cruz campaign’s National Prayer Team, Heidi Cruz compared the change Ted Cruz would surely make in the United States to the abolition of slavery. But what has Cruz liberated us from, other than my own sexual desire???
What Should Georgetown University Do About Its Slaveholding Past?
In its early days, the school that would become Georgetown University was funded in part by plantations, and the institution might not even exist today if it weren’t for 272 slaves who were sold to pay off its debts.
Harvard Attempts to Reckon With Its Own History of Slavery, Will Start With a Plaque
Harvard has installed a plaque honoring four slaves who worked in the households of two university presidents in the 1700s and, more broadly, recognizing the school’s history with slavery.
Let's Squash the Myth That the Irish Were Ever American Slaves
Éirinn go Brách and Happy Saint Patrick’s Day to my fellow children of the Emerald Isle! From oppression by the British to oppression in the United States to oppression on cereal boxes, we have endured a lot of painful history and that resilience is certainly worth celebrating. That being said, let’s separate the fact…
Mississippi Governor Proclaims That April Is Now 'Confederate Heritage Month'
In Mississippi, Governor Phil Bryant has declared April as Confederate Heritage Month, and the last Monday in April as Confederate Heritage Day. Unfortunately, this is not an April Fool’s joke.
I'm So Damn Tired of Slave Movies
The Birth of a Nation, Nate Parker’s Sundance darling period piece about the deadliest slave insurrection in American history, was purchased by Fox Searchlight on early Tuesday morning for $17.5 million. It was the largest deal in Sundance history, and coverage immediately suggested that The Birth of a Nation will…
Maya Rudolph Sobs While Learning About the Slaves in Her Family Ancestry
In tonight’s episode of the PBS show Finding Your Roots, Maya Rudolph breaks down crying when she learns that her family history traces back to a five-year-old slave who lived on a Kentucky plantation.
Scholastic Pulls Children's Book Accused Of Sentimentalizing Slavery
On January 5, Scholastic released A Birthday Cake For George Washington, written by Ramin Ganeshram and illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton. On Sunday, January 17, the children’s publisher pulled the book for its sentimental depiction of slavery.
Chill, White Virginia Delegate Rick Morris Compares Abortion to Slavery
Because Virginians have always been on the right side of history when it comes to slavery.
Queens Woman Accused of Holding Korean Children Captive for More Than Five Years
The Queens District Attorney says a Flushing woman kept two children from Korea captive for more than five years, beginning when they were 9 and 11 years old. DNAInfo reports that Sook Yeong Park, 42, is suspected of bringing the children into the country, then beating them and treating them as virtual slaves.
