What does Memorial Day mean to you? Is it just cookouts? Solemn appreciation for the nation’s dead? Do you think it has different meanings to different people? Explore what Memorial Day celebrations tell us about conflicting recollections and differences of opinion in American memory.
A short history of how the Confederate battle flag acquired its many meanings: pride of the Confederate fighting man and symbol of his memory, emblem of white supremacy and racial terror, an icon of regional identity, and a vessel for culture war politics today.
Between 1900 and 1945, wars emerged throughout the world. Read, watch videos, and participate in interactive activities that demonstrate the importance of this time period in world history.
Learn about the experience of Frank Sandoval, a Mexican-American soldier in World War II, through his letters home to his family in the documentary film "Letters Home to Hero Street." "Letters Home to Hero Street" is a film and teaching resource included on PBS LearningMedia. The resource is designed for grades 9-13+. Viewers can spend […]
Join community activists and urban planners as they discuss Boston’s history of redlining and discriminatory housing policies, the complicity of the banks and the real estate industry, and the consequent legacy of segregation and racial wealth disparity. We also identify some specific actions we can take to address the inequities in home ownership. This five-part […]
On August 20, 2020, historian Kyla Sommers, author of the dissertation “‘I Believe in the City:’ The Black Freedom Struggle and the 1968 Civil Disturbances in Washington, D.C.,” and Tony Gittens, director of the Washington, DC International Film Festival, who was a student at Howard University in 1968, discussed the similarities and differences between the […]
The one-room country school took rough-hewn pioneers and multilingual immigrants and transformed them into a literate and patriotic new nation. Flag Day originated in a one-room school in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin. This is a short 4-minute documentary that can be viewed free via Vimeo anytime.
With a Single Step: Stories in the Making of America presents the diverse layers of the Chinese American experience, while examining America’s journey as a nation of immigrants. It interweaves the historical and political context of Chinese immigration to the United States with the personal stories and cultural traces of multiple generations. Visit online or […]
How can we be more conscious of where our food comes from and the people who grow it? Chef Jocelyn Ramirez will share how Latinx communities in Los Angeles are reimagining the food system through a plant-based diet that draws upon traditional Mexican food cultures.
The United Kingdom has just announced it can no longer support the Greek government in its fight against a communist rebel movement that threatens to bring Greece into the Soviet orbit. How should the United States respond? Participate in a foreign policy simulation.
Tanilo Sandoval, from Hero Street, USA in Silvis, Illinois, took his Honor Flight to Washington, D.C. to honor his two brothers who died serving during WWII. He reflects on their hard work, poverty, service as Mexican-Americans in the U.S. military, and love for their country.
Our society is engaged in debates about symbols in America, their meaning and public display. Symbols are subjective and their interpretation can be influenced by personal experience. Symbols are especially complicated when they are made in the image of a historical figure. Christopher Columbus is one such case. Is it possible to both publicly laud […]