Portside

“It’s not that Gen. Granger was giving information to the enslaved people. He was giving it to the masters” — at the barrel of a gun.

Can Democrats truly reconcile with those Republicans who called President Biden’s election fraudulent and encouraged violent attack of the U.S. Capitol?

Trump continues a long history in the U.S. of local, state and national political leaders encouraging white supremacist groups to challenge or overthrow democratic governments.

Illinois is what I would call a quasi-slave state. And what’s surprising to people is that it existed here within the law. It begins with the colonial slave laws that came from France (because Illinois was a French territory).

Reader Comments: 2020 - Nevada, Medicare 4 All, Campaign to Stop Bernie, Culinary Workers, Pittsburgh AFL-CIO; Economy a Bust; NYC School Segregation, Corporate Schooling; Black History; Civil War, Reconstruction; Labor Notes; lots of announcements;

Long before the Civil War, black abolitionists shared the consensus that violence would be necessary to end slavery. Unlike their white peers, their arguments were about when and how to use political violence, not if.

150 years after the ratification of the 15th Amendment, an understanding what happened during Reconstruction is essential for exploring black power, resilience and excellence. Here are some resources for teaching Reconstruction.

Charting the ironies of freedom won and lost during and after the Civil War, Eric Foner, the American historian, has also helped us better understand the ambiguous consequences of what were almost always only partial victories.