History

Health & Safety

What Typhoid Mary's Story Tells Us About COVID-19 Tensions

7:15am July 02, 2020

NPR's Throughline Podcast discusses what the story of Typhoid Mary tells us about journalism, the powers of the state, and the tension between personal responsibility and personal liberty.

Queue Listen Now

Tourists visit Mount Rushmore National Monument on Wednesday. President Trump is expected to visit the federal monument in South Dakota and give a speech before a fireworks display on Friday.

Mount Rushmore Fireworks Revival To Feature Trump But No Social Distancing

7:07pm July 01, 2020

by David Welna

Environmental dangers, including wildfires and groundwater poisoning, ended the Rushmore pyrotechnics a decade ago. Now they're back, defying a pandemic and protests.

National

Richmond Mayor Says He Wants City-Owned Confederate Monuments Removed Immediately

4:33pm July 01, 2020

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney about his resolution to remove city-owned Confederate monuments immediately.

Queue Listen Now

National

Civil Rights Advocate Myrlie Evers-Williams On The Change Of Mississippi Flag

4:33pm July 01, 2020

NPR's Ari Shapiro speaks with Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of Medgar Evers who was assassinated in their home state of Mississippi, about the state removing the Confederate insignia from its flag.

Two Mississippi state flags wave outside the Capitol in Jackson, Miss., in 2019. State lawmakers voted to retire the current flag, and Mississippi GOP Gov. Tate Reeves is expected to sign the measure.

Mississippi Black Lawmaker On Taking Down The Flag: A Symbol Of 'Hate And Not Love'

6:10pm June 29, 2020

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Mississippi state Sen. Derrick Simmons, a Democrat, after lawmakers in that state voted on Sunday to remove the Confederate battle emblem from the state flag.

Queue Listen Now

The flag of the state of Mississippi flies in front of the Mississippi State Capitol dome on Jan. 10, 2019. Lawmakers have cleared the way for legislation to remove and replace the flag.

Mississippi Lawmakers Clear Path To Remove Confederate Emblem From State Flag

9:21pm June 27, 2020

by Christianna Silva

Mississippi state lawmakers cleared the path for legislation to remove and redesign the 126-year-old state flag, which includes the Confederate battle emblem. The governor said he will sign it.

Why A History Professor Says 'Racist' Emancipation Memorial Shouldn't Come Down

5:22pm June 27, 2020

Protesters want to remove the Emancipation Memorial in Washington, D.C. NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Yale history professor David Blight about why he thinks the memorial should stay up.

A Most Beautiful Thing: The True Story of America's First All-Black High School Rowing Team, by Arshay Cooper

'A Most Beautiful Thing' Tells Of The First U.S. All-Black High School Rowing Team

7:57am June 27, 2020

by Scott Simon

In A Most Beautiful Thing, Arshay Cooper shares the story of how he, and others from rival gang neighborhoods on Chicago's West Side, found their way to crew — and each other.

National

Mississippi Lawmakers Face Pressure To Change State's Official Flag

4:13pm June 26, 2020

Momentum is increasing to change Mississippi's official flag, which includes the Confederate battle flag's saltire.

LGBTQ Activist Cleve Jones: 'I'm Well Aware How Fragile Life Is'

1:26pm June 26, 2020

by Terry Gross

Jones lost countless friends to the AIDS epidemic. He became an activist after Harvey Milk's assassination: "Meeting Harvey, seeing his death, it fixed my course." Originally broadcast Nov. 29, 2016.

Queue Listen Now