reputation — Bunk History

Viewing 151–180 of 670 results. Go to first page

Martin Luther King Jr., left, and Malcolm X, right.

MLK’s Famous Criticism of Malcolm X Was a ‘Fraud,’ Author Finds

Alex Haley’s transcript of his famous 'Playboy' interview with Martin Luther King Jr. does not match what was published.

by Gillian Brockell via Retropolis on May 10, 2023

CIA director William Colby, left, and President Gerald Ford, right.

How the Murder of a CIA Officer Was Used to Silence the Agency’s Greatest Critic

A new account sheds light on the Ford administration’s war against Sen. Frank Church and his landmark effort to rein in a lawless intelligence community.

by James Risen, Thomas Risen via The Intercept on May 9, 2023

Martin Luther King Jr. with other activists and children.

Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Perilous Power of Respectability

We revere the man and revile the strategy, but King knew what he was doing.

by Kelefa Sanneh via The New Yorker on May 8, 2023

Boxing great Joe Louis stands in a gymnasium boxing ring as if ready for a match.

How Racist Car Dealers KO’d Joe Louis

A never-before-published tranche of letters reveals the white-collar racism that prevented the world’s most popular athlete from selling Fords.

by Silke-Maria Weineck via The Nation on May 8, 2023

Jockey Isaac Murphy on the thoroughbred Tenny, circa 1890.

Born Into Slavery, A Kentucky Derby Champ Became An American Superstar

Isaac Murphy was once called ‘The Prince of Jockeys’ during the fleeting era when African Americans reigned on the nation’s racetracks.

by Sydney Trent via Retropolis on May 6, 2023

A drawing of St. Johns, Canada, beside a river.

Remember Baker

A Green Mountain Boy's controversial death and its consequences.

by Mark R. Anderson via Journal of the American Revolution on May 4, 2023

University of Berlin, Germany, circa 1900

Academic Freedom’s Origin Story

While academic freedom is foundational to American higher education today, it is a relatively recent development.

by Melissa De Witte via Stanford Graduate School Of Education on May 1, 2023

Little Richard holding his arms out at a performance.

What Little Richard Deserved

The new documentary “I Am Everything” explores the gulf between what Richard accomplished and what he got for it.

by Hanif Abdurraqib via The New Yorker on April 26, 2023

CEO Eli Black (middle) talking with farmers at a lettuce farm.

The Banana King Who (Tried to) Put People Over Profits

1970s United Fruit CEO Eli Black got caught between the warring ideals of ‘social responsibility’ and shareholder gains.

by Matt Garcia via Zócalo Public Square on April 26, 2023

Jimmy Carter at a podium against the backdrop of an American flag.

Is Jimmy Carter Where Environmentalism Went Wrong?

Carter’s austerity was part of a bigger project. It didn’t really have much to do with environmentalism.

by Kate Aronoff via The New Republic on April 18, 2023

Helen Hamilton Gardener circa 1920.

Intellectual, Suffragist and Pathbreaking Federal Employee: Helen Hamilton Gardener

Gardner's public service did not end with her lifelong advocacy for women's equality, but continued even after her death.

by Allison S. Finkelstein via Arlington National Cemetery on April 13, 2023

The Branch Davidians compound in Waco, Texas, consumed by flames.

What Really Happened at Waco

Thirty years later, an avoidable tragedy has spawned a politically ascendant mythology.

by Rachel Monroe via The New Yorker on April 12, 2023

Collage of DNA sequence and scientists, reading "Your Child's IQ: What Role Does Heredity Play?"

Losing the Genetic Lottery

How did a field meant to reclaim genetics from Nazi abuses wind up a haven for race science?

by Padmini Raghunath via Distillations on April 6, 2023

Richard Nixon discusses Vietnam with National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger and Deputy National Security Advisor Al Haig at Camp David, 1972.

The "Madman Theory" Was Quintessential Nixon

The rash ruse was central to Nixon’s strategy to fight the Cold War, and can also tell us a good deal about the famously elusive ex-president himself.

by Zachary Jonathan Jacobson via HNN on March 26, 2023

Painting of a pond surrounded by lush vegetation.

A Paradise for All

The relentless radicalism of Benjamin Lay.

by Astra Taylor via Lapham’s Quarterly on March 21, 2023

Graphic including images of Percy Julian.

Percy Julian and the False Promise of Exceptionalism

Reflecting on the trailblazing chemist’s fight for dignity and the myths we tell about our scientific heroes.

by Alexis J. Pedrick via Distillations on March 16, 2023

French pharmacist and self-help guru Émile Coué waves from the deck of a ship, circa 1923. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

America Was Obsessed with This Self-Help Craze 100 Years Ago

Émile Coué, a French apothecary, started an “autosuggestion” craze that was the biggest thing in America in the early 1920s, practiced by millions every day.

by Gordon F. Sander via Retropolis on March 13, 2023

President Jimmy Carter standing behind a podium.

Jimmy Carter's African Legacy: Peacemaker, Negotiator and Defender of Rights

Carter’s work in Zimbabwe forms a significant and underappreciated part of his legacy.

by Nancy Mitchell via The Conversation on March 9, 2023

J. Edgar Hoover and two other men pose with guns.

The Cult of J. Edgar Hoover

A zealot through and through, he ran the FBI like a religious sect.

by Adam Hochschild via The Nation on March 7, 2023

Marihuana revenue stamp $1 1937

1910s Cannabis Discourse and Prohibition

Does marijuana prohibition have racist origins? Where did ideas of “reefer madness” come from? This project looks to the historical record for answers.

by Isaac Campos via The Drug Page on March 7, 2023

President John F. Kennedy meets with William Fitzjohn, Sierra Leone's charge d’affairs in Washington, in the Oval Office on April 27, 1961.

The African Diplomats Who Protested Segregation in the U.S.

Dwight D. Eisenhower and John F. Kennedy publicly apologized after restaurants refused to serve Black representatives of newly independent nations.

by Francine Uenuma via Smithsonian on February 24, 2023

Illustration of Abraham Lincoln writing the Emancipation Proclamation.

Abraham Lincoln Is a Hero of the Left

Leftists have regarded Lincoln as a pro-labor hero who helped vanquish chattel slavery. We should celebrate him today within the radical democratic tradition.

by Matthew E. Stanley via Jacobin on February 20, 2023

Benjamin Franklin playing chess with Lady Caroline Howe while Admiral Lord Richard Howe looks on, London, December 1774; watercolor circa 1875–1885

Commanders and Courtiers

Lost wars, especially when defeat comes as a rude surprise, inevitably spark painful self-examination.

by T. H. Breen via New York Review of Books on February 2, 2023

Buckminster Fuller looking at a model of a geodesic dome.

Buckminster Fuller’s Hall of Mirrors

Alec Nevala-Lee’s new biography assesses the complicated legacy of an architect better known for his image than his work.

by Daniel Luis Martinez via The Nation on February 1, 2023

Image of Black Seminoles Plenty Payne, Billy July, Ben July, Dembo Factor, Ben Wilson, John July, William Shields.

The Life of Louis Fatio: American Slavery and Indigenous Sovereignty

Louis Fatio seized an opportunity to recount his version of his life—a story that had been distorted and used by white Americans for various political purposes.

by Caroline Wood Newhall via Black Perspectives on January 31, 2023

Censored text and George W. Bush with a black bar covering his eyes. Art by Alex Cochran.

What Really Took America to War in Iraq

A fatal combination of fear, power, and hubris.

by Melvyn P. Leffler via The Atlantic on January 23, 2023

Fossils in an exhibit demonstrating the evolution of horses.

The Bitter Dinosaur Feud At The Heart of Palaeontology

As two warring bone hunters sought to destroy each other, they laid the foundations for our knowledge of dinosaurs.

by Martha Henriques via BBC News on January 19, 2023

Buster Keaton holds himself up against two walls.

Puzzled Puss: Buster Keaton’s Star Turn

Keaton had been on the stage longest, risen the highest, fallen the furthest, and left the most indelible legacy.

by John Lahr via London Review of Books on January 19, 2023

J. Robert Oppenheimer.

J. Robert Oppenheimer Cleared of “Black Mark” Against His Name After 68 Years

Manhattan Project physicist was infamously stripped of his security clearance in 1954.

by Jennifer Ouellette via Ars Technica on December 25, 2022

Corporate executives sitting on musicians

Ticketmaster’s Dark History

A 40-year saga of kickbacks, threats, political maneuvering, and the humiliation of Pearl Jam.

by Maureen Tkacik, Krista Brown via The American Prospect on December 21, 2022

brought to you by

© Bunk History