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All articles tagged with #us history

Gullah Geechee Corridor Marks 20 Years of Heritage Preservation Amid Climate Threats
culture18 days ago

Gullah Geechee Corridor Marks 20 Years of Heritage Preservation Amid Climate Threats

The Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor, a 500-mile stretch along the US Southeast coast, marks its 20th anniversary as a National Heritage Area. This region preserves a distinct language and culture rooted in West Africa, sustained by communities on isolated sea islands. While the corridor celebrates its 2026 anniversary with festivals and tours, it faces ongoing threats from climate change, land loss, and development pressure.

via BBC|
#african-diaspora#climate-resilience#cultural-preservation
US Radioactive Waste Drums Remain Scattered Across San Francisco Seafloor
environment29 days ago

US Radioactive Waste Drums Remain Scattered Across San Francisco Seafloor

Between 1946 and 1970, the United States dumped approximately 47,800 containers of radioactive waste into the Pacific Ocean west of San Francisco. These steel drums, weighted with concrete, were not designed for long-term containment but merely to survive the descent to the seafloor. Due to poor navigation and lack of detailed record-keeping, many containers missed their designated sites, scattering across 1,400 square kilometers of seabed, much of which now lies within the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. While a 1981 review suggested the radioactivity had decayed to negligible levels, later studies found isotope signatures in local fish that differed from weapons fallout. Despite the ban on ocean dumping in 1994, no agency has proposed retrieving the drums, as the cost outweighs the measured hazard.

via Space Daily|
#environment#marine-sanctuary#ocean-dumping
Smithsonian Secretary Bunch Retires Amid Trump Pressure and Exhibit Controversies
politics1 month ago

Smithsonian Secretary Bunch Retires Amid Trump Pressure and Exhibit Controversies

Smithsonian Secretary Lonnie Bunch III announced his retirement effective year-end, citing personal exhaustion rather than political pressure, though his departure follows intense White House scrutiny of museum exhibits. Fox News reported that the National Museum of the American Indian in Manhattan features displays labeling George Washington a 'town destroyer' and omitting context for Revolutionary War conflicts. The Trump administration has threatened funding cuts to force changes in how American history is presented, while critics argue such demands threaten democratic values by enforcing a sanitized, patriotic narrative.

via Fox News|
#lonnie-bunch#museum-exhibits#politics
Statue of Liberty torch remains closed 110 years after 1916 sabotage
history1 month ago

Statue of Liberty torch remains closed 110 years after 1916 sabotage

The Statue of Liberty’s torch has been closed to the public since 1916 due to damage from the Black Tom explosion, a German sabotage attack on a munitions depot in New York Harbor. The blast, which occurred before the US entered World War I, caused shrapnel to hit the statue’s arm, leading to a permanent closure of the 40-foot ladder to the torch balcony. While the crown remains accessible, the torch has never been reopened to visitors, even after major restorations. The original torch was replaced in the 1980s, and the current one is only accessed by National Park Service staff for maintenance. The event also led to espionage legislation and a long legal battle for compensation from Germany, which concluded in 1979.

via Space Daily|
#black-tom-explosion#history#national-park-service
Gloria Steinem’s Legacy: From Playboy Exposé to Feminist Icon
obituary1 month ago

Gloria Steinem’s Legacy: From Playboy Exposé to Feminist Icon

Gloria Steinem, a central figure in the US women’s liberation movement, died at 92. Born in 1934, she rose to fame through investigative journalism and co-founded Ms. magazine in 1972. She championed abortion rights, equal pay, and same-sex marriage, facing significant backlash from both political opponents and fellow feminists. Steinem received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2013 and remained active until her death, leaving a lasting impact on gender equality discourse.

via BBC|
#feminism#gloria-steinem#ms-magazine
Patriot Passports featuring Trump's image to be issued to 250,000 Americans
travel2 months ago

Patriot Passports featuring Trump's image to be issued to 250,000 Americans

The State Department says it will expand the commemorative Patriot Passport program to 250,000 copies bearing President Trump’s image due to overwhelming demand, moving beyond the previously planned limited release; the passport includes the text of the Declaration of Independence and its signing, with applications reportedly requiring in-person attendance at special events.

via The Washington Post|
#donald-trump#passports-and-visas#presidents
Trump orders warning signs at Smithsonian over what he calls inaccurate US history
politics2 months ago

Trump orders warning signs at Smithsonian over what he calls inaccurate US history

President Trump signed an executive order directing warning signs be placed outside the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, accusing certain exhibits of being inaccurate and guiding visitors to what the White House calls accurate information about US history; Democrats criticized the move as political overreach and part of a broader effort to reshape federal cultural institutions amid ongoing debates over curatorial bias and woke ideology.

via BBC|
#culture-wars#executive-order#politics
Overnight exhibit swap at Philadelphia’s Independence Park sparks backlash over slavery history
politics3 months ago

Overnight exhibit swap at Philadelphia’s Independence Park sparks backlash over slavery history

The National Park Service replaced panels about slavery and George Washington’s ownership of enslaved people at Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia with a version critics say sanitizes history, installing the changes overnight and prompting controversy and legal action; the site’s President’s House excavation continues to highlight the stories of nine enslaved individuals who lived with Washington.

via The Washington Post|
#african-americans#black-history#politics
Trump’s expansionist revival redefines America’s frontier myth
politics3 months ago

Trump’s expansionist revival redefines America’s frontier myth

BBC analysis traces 250 years of US growth—from the 13 colonies to a continental power—driven by westward expansion, territorial purchases, and waves of immigration that reshaped identity and politics, with early regional identities foreshadowing today’s red-blue divide. As geographic expansion waned, immigration powered growth and shifted power toward the North and West, while the South pressed for expansion to sustain political clout. Now Donald Trump casts expansion as a nostalgic call to redraw borders—talking of Greenland, the Panama Canal, and possibly Canada and Venezuela—alongside mass deportations and lower immigration, framing a contemporary revival of expansionism as a test of what it means to be American.

via BBC|
#donald-trump#immigration#manifest-destiny
Vaccines That Rewrote a Nation’s Health: 17 Breakthroughs from Smallpox to COVID
health3 months ago

Vaccines That Rewrote a Nation’s Health: 17 Breakthroughs from Smallpox to COVID

The piece lists 17 vaccines deemed transformative to U.S. public health over 250 years, from Jenner’s smallpox vaccine to COVID-19, highlighting how each reduced illness and deaths, contributed to eradication or near-elimination of diseases like smallpox and polio, and underscoring the ongoing role of vaccination with expert commentary and CDC guidance guidance.

via Fox News|
#covid-19#health#immunization