"WRONG WAY" CORRIGAN AND THE "ACCIDENTAL" HERO

Took off for L.A. Landed in Ireland. He made human error heroic, but was he confused or just clever?

American OriginalsBruce WatsonJuly 10, 2018Comment

THE WOMAN WHO SAID 'NO' TO MCCARTHY

Bullied into silence, Congress got a lesson in integrity from Senator Margaret Chase Smith (R-ME).

Women, HistoryBruce WatsonJuly 6, 2018Comment

"WHAT, TO THE AMERICAN SLAVE, IS THE FOURTH OF JULY?"

Once Frederick Douglass rose to speak, Independence Day no longer seemed so free.

HistoryBruce WatsonJune 29, 2018Comment

HOLDEN CAULFIELD HITS THE BEACH

Before it could change a generation, "The Catcher in the Rye" had to survive D-Day

History, LitBruce WatsonJune 15, 2018Movies, History, litComment

THE BOOK THAT LISTENED TO GIRLS

The study said… The study said… Then Carol Gilligan realized. The study had only studied boys. Might girls speak “In a Different Voice”?

WomenBruce WatsonJune 8, 2018 Comment

TURNING MOSAICS INTO MAGIC

On a condemned street in Philly, Isaiah Zagar turned tiles into a dream. Once he’d helped save South Street, the street saved him.

ArtsBruce WatsonJune 1, 2018 Comments

"LET AMERICA BE AMERICA AGAIN"

How Langston Hughes touched bottom during the Depression and wrote an American anthem.

ArtsBruce WatsonMay 24, 2018American dream, Lit, People of ColorComment

WHEN I MET THE CODE TALKERS

GALLUP, NEW MEXICO, 1993 — Face-to-face with honor, humility, and a Navajo tradition of silence.

History, American OriginalsBruce WatsonMay 24, 2018 Comments

FATHERS DAY GHOSTS

Those Fifties Fathers weren’t like any father we knew. But they taught today’s fathers a thing or two.

American OriginalsBruce WatsonMay 20, 2018 Comment

IN THE ORCHARD OF DOLORES HUERTA

Single mother of seven, Dolores Huerta left her teaching job and went into the fields. The United Farm Workers was born.

WomenBruce WatsonMay 18, 2018History, Women, 1960s, People of ColorComment

MAKE GENTLE THE LIFE OF THIS WORLD

"Do they know about Martin Luther King?" Robert Kennedy asked as he stepped before the crowd. . .

HistoryBruce WatsonMay 18, 2018Comment

THE LONG REACH OF LONG NOW

Deep in a Texas cave, a clock ticks — for 10,000 years. Celebrate the Long Now! (No need to hurry.)

American OriginalsBruce WatsonMay 17, 2018 Comment

OUT OF THE CLOSET, INTO THE HEART

Loss after loss, Harvey Milk kept battering at the door. Then he turned to hope.

History, American OriginalsBruce WatsonMay 4, 2018Comment

THE WOMAN WHO SAID 'NO' TO WAR

As the first woman in Congress, Montana's Jeannette Rankin had many goals. But war intervened -- twice.

WomenBruce WatsonMay 4, 2018women, history Comment

VICTORIA FOR PRESIDENT -- IN 1872

"They cannot roll back the rising tide of reform. The world moves."

Women, HistoryBruce WatsonMay 3, 2018Women, Wall Street, American OriginalsComment