Opinion | They Didn’t Want to Sing Spirituals, but They Did — and Changed American Music

For 150 years, the Fisk Jubilee Singers have performed spirituals that saved a university and helped raise generations up from the bonds of slavery.

What Should I Do With My Portrait of a Slaveholding Ancestor?

The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on how to handle articles of history from a difficult past.

French Court Convicts Magazine Over Racist Portrayal of Black Lawmaker

The magazine caused an outcry last year after it published a fictional narrative depicting the legislator as an enslaved African.

The True Story of Robert E. Lee

Allen C. Guelzo’s “Robert E. Lee” offers a nuanced portrait of the Confederate general who chose his state over the nation.

Opinion | We Underestimated Trump Before. It Didn’t Go Well.

The former president continues to pose a threat because our political imagination fails us. 

In Louisiana, a Haunting Landscape

In a break from portraiture, Dawoud Bey photographed plantations on the west bank of the Mississippi River, drawing a line between past and present.

Virginia Supreme Court Clears Path for Removal of Robert E. Lee Statue

Two unanimous rulings allow Gov. Ralph Northam to remove the statue from its prominent spot on Monument Avenue in Richmond.

Bank of England Removes Art of Leaders Linked to Slave Trade

Oil paintings and portraits depicting seven leading figures at the bank have been removed because of their connections to slavery.

Stephen B. Oates, Civil War Historian, Dies at 85

In a quartet of biographies, he explored how slavery and racial oppression could exist in a land based on the ideals of the Declaration of Independence.

Opinion | Why Must Wall Street Return to the Office?

Readers take issue with an Opinion guest essay about the ways of Wall Street. Also: Grandma’s advice about the vaccine; universal health care; Andrew Cuomo’s Emmy; the history of slavery.

Leon Litwack, 91, Dies; Changed How Scholars Portray Black History

One of Berkeley’s most popular professors, he brought passion and nuance — and a love for blues music — to his award-winning study of the marginalized and the oppressed.

How a Gecko From Africa Crossed the Atlantic Ocean

The African house gecko, one of the most widely distributed invasive reptiles in the world, may have moved with the trans-Atlantic slave trade.

Opinion | We Owe Haiti a Debt We Can’t Repay

Haitians carried out the first and only successful slave revolt in modern history, then repelled Napoleon's forces, making way for the Louisiana Purchase. 

How a Slave Market Became a National Park Service Site

When driving through Natchez, Miss., it is easy to overlook Forks of the Road. But from 1833 to 1863, it was among the largest slave markets in America.

Her Family Owned Slaves. How Can She Make Amends?

Stacie Marshall, who inherited a Georgia farm, is trying on a small scale to address a generations-old wrong that still bedevils the nation.

The Battle for 1776

Plans for America’s 250th birthday in 2026 are getting underway. But can the spirit of 1776 survive the history wars of 2021?

What Should I Do With My Grandfather’s Cringey Canvases?

The magazine’s Ethicist columnist on the nudes that are no longer socially acceptable.

Opinion | What Progressives Want, and What Conservatives Are Fighting

A look at the race and history wars.

Clint Smith on ‘How the Word Is Passed’

Smith discusses his new book about reckoning with the history of slavery, and Julian Rubinstein discusses “The Holly.”

An Iowa County Chooses to Be Named for a Black Professor, Not a Slaveowner

Johnson County selected Lulu Merle Johnson, a Black educator and historian, as its official eponym, replacing Richard Mentor Johnson, the ninth U.S. vice president.