Recent Stories
What Two Fathers Talk About at Lunch
The slander against Black fathers is as old as the country. The men wh owned us knew better. So does modern social science.
A powerful look at Black fatherhood challenges one of America’s oldest stereotypes, tracing a legacy of fathers and husbands who fought to remain connected to their families from slavery to the present day.
Count Them. Then Hire Them.
Three weeks before he died, Dr. King stood up and argued with a number. The July jobs report says he was right.
Ben Jealous revisits Martin Luther King Jr.’s warning about “discouraged” workers to argue that today’s falling unemployment rate may be masking Americans who have stopped looking for jobs.
What Shall I Do With My Boy?
Frederick Douglass asked the question in 1853. Maryland is starting to answer it.
From Frederick Douglass' unanswered question to today's workforce crisis, Ben Jealous argues America must rebuild pathways to opportunity through apprenticeships, mentoring, and service—not just college.
Smoke Over Cahokia
A millennium ago, the greatest city north of what is now Mexico rose on the Mississippi. Then it emptied. Last week, smoke found it again.
As wildfire smoke from Canada darkened Midwestern skies, one writer looked to the ancient city of Cahokia for a sobering lesson about climate change, societal resilience and the consequences of division.
The Place Where the Rainbow Never Ends A brick, a beach, and a lesson that never stopped moving
Ben Jealous reflects on the enduring legacy of civil rights leader Norman Hill, whose courage at Chicago's Rainbow Beach and lifelong commitment to labor and racial justice helped shape generations of Black leaders.
A Nation That Forgets Its History Is Bound When we forget the first fights over voting rights, we forget who profits when the many are divided.
A renewed federal review of Georgia’s 2020 election records has reignited debate over voting rights, with one commentator arguing that today’s disputes echo a long history of efforts to restrict access to the ballot.
It Is Time to Redraw the Revolution, Again
This Fourth of July, historian and civil rights leader Ben Jealous urges Americans to reclaim the full story of the Revolution by restoring Black patriots, women, Native Americans, and working-class heroes to the nation's founding narrative.
Hey, Cousin - What I Saw on Juneteenth at Andre Jackson's Plantation – FINAL
On Juneteenth at The Hermitage, descendants of enslaved families gathered to honor Black history, confront the legacy of slavery, and explore the complex family ties that connect Americans across race and generations.
Turn a Wall on Its Side, and It Becomes a Table
A powerful argument for an America that welcomes newcomers, drawing on the words of Alec Baldwin, the vision of Frederick Douglass, and the enduring symbolism of the Statue of Liberty to show why inclusion makes the nation stronger.
Reconciling Jackson and Jackson
Former NAACP president Ben Jealous argues that Democrats should reject most of Andrew Jackson's legacy while reclaiming his commitment to fighting for working people and challenging concentrated economic power.
