“He can try to rewrite history, but we have the receipts. And as the Smithsonian’s exhibits magnificently illustrate, African Americans have survived — and overcome — much worse than the frothings of a puffed-up president who fancies himself a king.” …

Once loyal Chicagoans got over the double shock of hearing that a local native, Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, has been named the 267th pope, some critically important, locally familiar questions came up:

The United States’ relationship with diversity, equity and inclusion is not anomalous—it is as American as discrimination itself. Since Donald Trump’s first term in office, DEI has become a central political focus of his administration, matching previous efforts in principle …

On the night of Jan. 11, 1989, near the end of a 21-minute farewell address, President Ronald Reagan asked the television audience, “How stands ‘The City’ on this winter night?” The City—a reimagined America based off highly controversial pioneer John …

Will Donald Trump have Chicago to kick around anymore? That question, an update of Richard Nixon’s memorable farewell to news reporters as he dropped out of the California governor’s race in 1962, came to mind on the heels of some …

As a record number of pilgrims representing all walks of life filled the streets of Rome to mourn the death of “The People’s Pope,” history will indicate the fiercest critics of the Francis Pontificate were American Catholics. This should come …

As President Trump’s polling takes a tumble 100 days into his second term — and Dick Durbin, the Senate’s second-ranking Democrat, announces his retirement, a very old hit tune by Ethel Waters comes to mind: “There’ll be some changes made.”

His Holiness Pope Francis made his transition on the morning of after Easter Sunday, after he delivered an Easter blessing from the balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, and after he toured St. Peter’s Square in his popemobile. His doctors had …

As an international music icon, James Brown emerged as one of the founding fathers of funk with a musical style that often profoundly influenced R&B, jazz, and rock.

Kafkaesque. One hears that word a lot in discussions of Kilmar Abrego Garcia. Or, for lowbrows like me, “The Twilight Zone” might be the pertinent reference.

An onslaught of executive orders from President Donald Trump aim to restrict how and what educators can teach America’s children.

In 2024, four women held the rank of four-star general or admiral. One year later, in 2025, there are none. This is just one example of how individuals and groups who believe in social equity and fairness are embroiled in …

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that directs Vice President JD Vance to eliminate “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology” from Smithsonian museums, educational and research centers and the National Zoo.

The last living link of my family’s story of origin in antebellum Southern Virginia died at age 105 a few years ago.

Soon, April 22 will mark the 55th anniversary of Earth Day. The power of those 20 million voices that came out on the streets that first Earth Day led the United States to create the Environmental Protection Agency and the …