The Cold War was at its coldest when Samantha Smith wrote to the Soviet premiere. When he wrote back, the thaw began.

Shunned, mocked, arrested, America’s Peacemakers march on. This month we’ll meet a few of the blessed.

Like the old folks who spoke it, Yiddish was dying out. Then Aaron Lanky rented a truck and. . . Mazel tov!

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

With the Cold War looming, The Family of Man toured the world, creating a family portrait that fought the gloom.

FDR was lukewarm on Labor until Frances Perkins masterminded Social Security, minimum wage, workmen’s comp. . .  You’re welcome!

It was 1969, rebellion in the air, when Native-Americans landed on Alcatraz, claiming it as Indian Land.

Dorothea Lange gave the Depression a human face, but she was more than a “one-picture photographer.”

Tongue in cheek and baton in hand, Peter Schickle poked fun at classical music and the justly forgotten P.D.Q. Bach.

Ma Rainey sang, lived, and became the blues. But there was more to her than that “Slow, Drivin’ Moan.” (As seen in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.”)

Reeling from the news, David Byrne began compiling “reasons to be cheerful.” His website now shines a light on innovation, progress, and what works.

When Jim Crow whitened American newspapers, the Chicago Defender spread news about “the Race.”

American food was bland until Edward McIlhenny mashed peppers with vinegar and salt. And an American icon was served.

When the first blockbuster movie spread dangerous myths, one man rose to challenge them. And seeds were sown.

Laura Ingalls Wilder grew up in the “little house” but her daughter, Rose, became the story’s midwife.

From behind bars, King wrote an amazing letter with all the power of his dream.