Malcolm X, Chicago, 1961. by Eve Arnold.

I recently finished The Autobiography of Malcolm X (as told to Alex Haley). Oh my god. If you read any biographical book, read this one.

It used to be a really widespread required reading, but isn’t so much anymore, and I’m now really disappointed that I never had to read it at a single point during my studies, even though my history classes focused on the second half of 20th century American politics and culture. Wtf.

Lamestream history kind of views Malcolm X as a demagogue and leader of a racist, fabricated religion, and as a proponent of violence as a means towards civil rights. One of the beauties of this book though, is how it gives you a clear insight into what the Nation of Islam was all about, and what historical forces existed that made it such an appealing and natural choice for some people.

This book is amazing for its sheer power alone - the power of his life story, the power of the injustice, the power of emotion as a cultural force, and the power of knowledge to enlighten and motivate humans. He was such a charismatic person, and you can really feel his personality and emotion coming through the pages. 

What impressed me most about Malcolm X was his willingness to learn and to grow. He went through so many changes in philosophy throughout his life, and always remained open to learning new things. His dedication to self-education was his greatest asset, along with his humility and ability to connect with others. Don’t worry, you don’t have to agree with any of his beliefs to appreciate his story. 

I was discussing the book with my dad, and he made the point that what he had to say scared a lot of people, and people didn’t really understand what he had to say, either. And so you had media dealing with him in really frustrating ways, like this awesome clueless and condescending interviewer. (Seriously, does anybody not want to yell at him to shut up? Let the man with the voice of butter speak.) But you don’t have to think white people are a genetically modified devil race to appreciate him or this book. 

It’s definitely in my top 10 history books now, if not pushing its way into all-time. 

source (Life)

howstuffworks:

How Feminism Works

At its core, feminism is the belief in equ­ality. It seeks to eliminate the social, cultural and legal barriers between men and women. Its goal is to create a truly egalitarian society. Beyond that, the waters grow murkier. Feminist factions disagree sometimes on what constitutes equality — whether it’s sexual freedom, career advancement or something else. Some people who label themselves feminists perceive that battle for equality as over and done with; others still view society as rife with patriarchal restrictions. Recently, a debate has stirred over whether feminism has become outdated as term and should even be used at all.

­So is feminism today a potent force for change? Or is it the “f-word,” spit out like a bitter seed? By examining its unifying philosophies and causes, as well as the schisms within the movement, we can properly evaluate and answer those questions.

Continue…

A nice Intro to Feminism 101. Besides the fact that they keep capitalizing bell hooks’ name, solid basics. 

theatlantic:

To Make America Great Again, We Need to Leave the Country

When Americans travel abroad, they are often surprised at how well other countries do the things we used to think America does best. In fact, one reason so many American businesses still lead the world is because they benchmark the competition and emulate best practices. But suggest to an American politician that we should try to learn from other countries, and he will look at you like you are from Mars. It is somehow unpatriotic even to raise such comparisons.

Imagine if a politician were to say, “France has a better health care system than we do.” I can almost guarantee that politician would suffer electoral defeat — even though the statement, in most objective respects, is true. The U.S. is, for too many, the only country that matters; experiences anywhere else are irrelevant. Remember, we have many members of Congress who boast they have no passport.

At a time when many trend lines in the U.S. point to relative decline in this regard, one actually brings hope: More and more young Americans go abroad for some of their education. 

Read more. [Image: jbachman01/Flickr]

I was just thinking on the train yesterday how embarrassing America’s rail system is and how embarrassing we are at frankly a lot of other things, and wondering how the world lets us get away with invading other people’s countries and bossing them around when we are clearly not number one anymore, and thinking about how nothing will ever change because too many Americans can’t help but see Europeans as moral-less commies. 

This article contemplates these things well. 

Map of the Day: Soda vs. Pop vs. Coke

Coke Country represent.

coolchicksfromhistory:

First Lady Abigail Powers Fillmore began teaching at a country school house  in Cayuga County, NY when she was 16 years old.  In the winter of 1818 a self taught teenager named Millard Fillmore enrolled her class.  They were engaged a year later, although the wedding was delayed until 1826.  For three years of their courtship, they were 150 miles apart as Millard trained to be a lawyer.  As Millard explained, she was “eight years my sweetheart, twenty seven years my wife.”

Abigail taught for two years after their wedding, making her the first First Lady to hold a job after marriage.  She retired from teaching after the birth of her first child Millard Powers Fillmore.

Abigail was a proponent of libraries and founded the first public library in Sempronius, New York.  As First Lady, she worked to create a permanent library in the White House.  Prior to the Fillmore administration, US presidents had brought their own books to the White House, retrieving them once they left office.  Through her husband, Abigail obtained a special appropriation from Congress to create a small library on the second floor of the White House which still exists today.