History as Prologue

Category: Civil Rights

  • The N-word – Under new management

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    Mark Thomas
    in ,

    The N-word – Under new management I routinely hear the N-word used multiple times a day. Having spent the last year teaching in an urban Indianapolis area school district I estimate the racial epithet reaches my ear a dozen times every single day. However, I’ve not yet heard the term used as a pejorative. Something…

  • Defining marriage in the Hoosier State

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    Mark Thomas
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    Defining marriage in the Hoosier State Within the next two weeks, the United States Supreme Court will render holdings in two cases involving secular marriage. The essence of both cases is to what degree a state government or Congress can define which persons can marry which other persons. While states are generally left to define…

  • Blood on the threads

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    Mark Thomas
    in

    Blood on the threads Yesterday, initial reports from Bangladesh tell of how, so far, 256 souls perished in a garment factory collapse. The death toll will no doubt rise as more bodies are uncovered. As history is truly prologue, there is little chance that any substantive change will result from this most recent loss. Free…

  • Social studies, civil rights and the bigger picture

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    Mark Thomas
    in ,

    Social studies, civil rights and the bigger picture There have been three presidential administrations, including the Obama Administration, since I last participated in a social studies methods class. Over the years, I’ve focused on units and lessons that support those broad themes of social studies without much deliberate thought given to those stemming concepts. Like all fundamentals…