Stephen C. Foster

A haunting exploration of “My Old Kentucky Home” reveals how a minstrel song rooted in slavery became a nostalgic American icon embedded in consumer culture.

Emily Bingham’s new book explores the roots of the Kentucky Derby’s anthem. It may not be pretty, but it’s important to know.

A history of blackface and minstrelsy in American culture.

Charles Ives and the Civil War.

Minstrel shows were an American invention, but they also found success in the United Kingdom, where audiences were negotiating their relationships with empire.

Starbucks and Anheuser-Busch are the latest corporate targets of tactics honed by segregationists post–Brown v. Board.

An 1859 painting by Eastman Johnson depicted enslaved people in a D.C. courtyard. Intended to humanize them, it was coopted by slavery defenders.

Exploring the homes of two presidents, the birthplace of another, and a natural wonder that once drew visitors from far and wide.

Why songs of the southland are really northern.

The career and legacy of a Black critic who argued for the elevation of Black performance.

This 1952 textbook serves as an example of the "patriotic history" that Donald Trump grew up with and calls for today.

Minstrel shows were once so mainstream that even presidents watched them.

How I learned to fiddle my way through America's deeply troubling history.

How an African instrument got a racist reinvention.