U.S. Senate Is Sorry About Slavery

Staff / Truthdig Jun 18, 2009 On Thursday, the Senate adopted a resolution that apologizes for the evils of slavery on behalf of the people of the United States, and "acknowledges the fundamental injustice, cruelty, brutality and inhumanity of slavery, and Jim Crow laws." The resolution does not, however, offer any form of reparation for the descendants of slaves. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Obama Sends Rebs a Wreath

Staff / Truthdig May 26, 2009 President Obama decided not to break with White House custom this Memorial Day and sent a wreath to honor the fallen Confederate soldiers who wanted nothing to do with the Union. But he also started a new and long-overdue tradition by honoring the hundreds of thousands of black Americans who fought against the South. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Where’s Rev. Wright When You Need Him?

Chris Hedges / Truthdig Apr 20, 2009 Israel and the United States will together boycott the United Nations World Conference Against Racism in Geneva. Racism, an endemic feature of Israeli and American society, is not, we have decided, open for international inspection. It's times like this President Obama would do well to heed the sermons of his former pastor. Dig deeper ( 5 Min. Read )

Brenda Wineapple on Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass

BLANK Jan 23, 2009 Two recent books show how a man of reason and conservative temperament and a man of passion and radical disposition joined together, even before either knew it, to end slavery. Dig deeper ( 10 Min. Read )

A Rejoinder to Gore Vidal

Andrew Gumbel / Truthdig Nov 14, 2008 Let me describe what happened in my interview with Gore Vidal for Vanity Fair's Spanish edition and why I felt compelled to report what was, in my experience, the single most shockingly racist line of the 2008 presidential election campaign. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

President Obama Can Redeem the White House

Amy Goodman / Truthdig Nov 13, 2008 The first African-American elected president of the United States recently visited his soon-to-be residence, a house built by slaves. Alice Walker told me: "Even when they were building it, you know, in chains or in desperation and in sadness, they were building it for him." Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Gore Vidal Blasts Racism Claim

BLANK Nov 11, 2008 Gore Vidal, racist? Au contraire, the renowned author asserts in this response to a recent piece on The Huffington Post that claimed Vidal had a problem with Barack Obama's bid for the White House because of the president-elect's race. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

America’s Relay Race

Ellen Goodman / Truthdig Nov 6, 2008 There was symbolism as well as sadness in the passing of Barack Obama's grandmother. When we're young, we think change is a 100-yard dash. As we get older we think it's a marathon. Eventually we see a relay race. Dig deeper ( 3 Min. Read )

Lincoln and Douglas Debate Again in ‘The Rivalry’

Staff / Truthdig Nov 2, 2008 Just in time for Election Day, actors David Strathairn and Paul Giamatti are resurrecting the formidable historical figures of Abraham Lincoln and his rival for the Senate in 1858, Stephen A. Douglas, respectively, in L.A. Theatre Works' production of "The Rivalry," Norman Corwin's play about the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

A Slave’s Daughter Votes for Obama

Staff / Truthdig Oct 31, 2008 Amanda Jone's father encouraged her to vote. That wasn't always an easy feat in Texas, but she did her best, paying poll taxes to vote for FDR and others. Now the 109-year-old daughter of a former slave has voted for the man who could become the first black president and she says, "I feel good about [it]." Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Powell Busts a Move

Staff / Truthdig Oct 15, 2008 Former Secretary of State and current dance sensation Colin Powell graced the stage of a London hip-hop concert "in celebration of African culture." The song he sang and danced to? A Nigerian hit about people spending money gleaned from U.S. Internet scam victims. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Pope Preaches About America’s Hope and Pain

Staff / Truthdig Apr 17, 2008 Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Mass Thursday in a venue different from his customary surroundings, leading a service at the Washington Nationals baseball stadium on the latest stop of his American tour. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )