As part of the DC History Center’s mission to help Washingtonians use the past to understand the present, we present Context for Today. Here we offer readings, documents, videos, and other educational resources to help our community reflect on our past and how it continues to inform the present.
General Resources
“Race and Reckoning: Resources to understand America’s long history of injustice and inequality.”
On August 18, 2020, the Washington Post aggregated its relevant coverage of race and made it available online. The results are a worthy series of “deeply reported stories, videos, photo essays, audio and graphics” divided into topical sections: history, education, income inequality, protest and activism, health, politics, policing and criminal justice, and culture.
The 1619 Project
The 1619 Project is an ongoing initiative from the New York Times Magazine that began in August 2019, the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery. It aims to reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.” The New York Times project was a key moment in forcing White attention to the racism embedded in American life. Though historians have questioned some of the project’s facts and emphases, it remains a compelling and important corrective to the longstanding indifference by the majority population to Black history.
Content by Topic
Police Brutality and Reform in DC
Racism and Anti-Racism in the Federal Government
Comparing the Uprisings of 1968 and 2020
DC as a Laboratory for Federal Experiments
See Our Latinidad, See Our Blackness
Public Programs
The DC History Center gathers expert historians, activists, and journalists for live conversations that shed light on issues of importance to Washingtonians. The experts bring the benefits of their research and experiences to help us understand how we got here, and where we might be going. Conversations on pressing current issues are presented as “Context for Today.” The entire collection of Context for Today programs has been archived for your viewing. Click here to browse the entire collection.
We welcome your suggestions for additions to these resources. Email library@dchistory.org with links to, or descriptions of, resources that you recommend to others.