The spring 2020 print issue on the history of slavery, segregation, and racism in our region was produced with the help and financial support of the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. The soul of America is its promise of ever-expanding freedom, equality and opportunity. The parodox of America is that over four centuries our Founders and our leaders reneged on this … [Read more...] about The 1857 Project: Extracting the poison of racism from America’s soul
Press flubs first draft of history of race
The press’ rough draft of the history of race in St. Louis, Missouri and Illinois got most things wrong. In the early 1950s, a group of young civil rights activists – Irv and Maggie Dagen, Charles and Marion Oldham and Norman Seay – led a CORE (Congress of Racial Equality) sponsored sit-in of lunch counters in segregated downtown St. Louis. Richard Dudman, a young … [Read more...] about Press flubs first draft of history of race
The Land of Dred Scott: Scenes from our racist history
The nation’s fight about the meaning of America’s great promises of freedom and equality played out at St. Louis’ Old Courthouse in 1850 and before huge crowds in the seven Illinois towns during the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858. It took the death of 750,000 men to settle the issue. Five paragraphs beyond those stirring words “We the People” is a shock – the three-fifths … [Read more...] about The Land of Dred Scott: Scenes from our racist history
Press, candidates flub discussion of abortion, privacy and the courts
This month’s Democratic presidential debate descended into confusion when candidates discussed the Supreme Court and abortion. The candidates threw around jargon that probably confused many Americans and seemed to confuse each other. None of the candidates had a cogent answer and the press didn’t begin to untangle the mess. There was mention of the Ninth Amendment, … [Read more...] about Press, candidates flub discussion of abortion, privacy and the courts
Year three of Trump’s war on truth: Replacing enlightenment virtues with Dark Age fantasies
At the end of year three and on the verge of impeachment, Donald J. Trump is destroying Enlightenment principles that undergird American Democracy and the First Amendment - the faith that science, reason, facts and empiricism can triumph over ignorance, superstition, lies and darkness. Our model democracy, our free press, our professional government, our world-class … [Read more...] about Year three of Trump’s war on truth: Replacing enlightenment virtues with Dark Age fantasies