Despite the pleasures of a three-day weekend, the second Monday in October has a highly contentious history. Although it was not celebrated at the federal level until 1934, the commemoration of Christopher Columbus’s first voyage became widespread at a time of intense anti-immigrant—particularly anti-Asian—sentiment. As historian Malinda Maynor Lowery put it, in the late 1800s,…
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Indigenous Peoples’ Day: Honoring Caroline Parker, Haudenosaunee Artist
October 8, 2021
Despite the pleasures of a three-day weekend, the second Monday in October has a highly contentious history. Although it was not celebrated at the federal level until 1934, the commemoration of Christopher Columbus’s first voyage became widespread at a time of intense anti-immigrant—particularly anti-Asian—sentiment. As historian Malinda Maynor Lowery put it, in the late 1800s,…
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Celebrating Katharine Graham and the Anniversary of the Black and White Ball
November 30, 2020
One of the most legendary social events in New York City history was the Black and White Ball on November 28, 1966. Hosted by author Truman Capote at the Plaza Hotel and honoring Katharine Graham, head of the Washington Post Company, the Ball propelled Graham to the center of influential new networks and sent her…
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A Brief History of Women Running for Political Office
November 18, 2020
The election held on November 3, 2020, was an auspicious one for women. The United States elected our first woman, and first woman of color, to executive office with Senator Kamala Harris set to become Vice President, and a record-breaking number of women were elected to Congress. In January, 140 women will be seated in…
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Elizabeth Feinler and the History of the Internet
November 13, 2020
As we enter into the third season of this global pandemic, many of us have transitioned the bulk of our social lives online. And while some may still imagine a solitary hacker in their mind’s eye when they think of the internet, others envision a room crowded with people and ideas. The online space where…
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Resilience and Community: Filipino Americans, Nursing, and COVID-19
October 30, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the ways we live and work. Since March, many Americans were told to work from home, many were left unemployed, and many frontline workers continued to go to work to provide essential service—including nurses, a profession historically dominated by women. Today, 90 percent of nursing jobs in the United States…
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Behind the Halloween Mask: Power, Identity, and the Law in New York
October 26, 2020
In any year but 2020, Halloween is an exciting opportunity to don a mask. Unfortunately, COVID-19 has made masking a serious public health responsibility and a partisan flashpoint, rather than a fun costume prop. This year, as images of masked marchers for racial justice are juxtaposed with violent protests against pandemic-related mask mandates, the question…
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