Recovering America’s Democratic Memory “Be true to what you said on paper.”— Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Most Americans know that the Civil War ended slavery. Far fewer know what came next.After four years of war, the United States faced … Continue reading Democracy Under Reconstruction, Again
Bernie Madoff became a sacrificial lamb because he violated the rules and took advantage of the untouchables: wealthy, “white,” male, landowners. Every now and then, they may drop one into the system to give the appearance of justice and no … Continue reading The Game
“Let us rise up and build.”Nehemiah 2:18, KJV Dear Reader, I am a native of Wilmington, North Carolina. My family and I are what I call geographical ancestors of 1898. We are not descendants looking back at a distant place. … Continue reading After the Fire, What Do We Build? Wilmington, 1898, the Voting Rights Act, and the Unfinished Work of Reconstruction
In 1852, Frederick Douglass stood before an audience in Rochester, New York, and posed a question that continues to echo through American history: “What, to the American slave, is your Fourth of July?” Douglass understood something that remains true today. … Continue reading What, to America, Is the 250th Anniversary?
The circus came to town and left it in such disarray. But, you see, it was stupendous, colossal, exciting, with three rings and death-defying stunts, bearded ladies and giant rats from the sewers of Paris. It was unbelievable, just as … Continue reading The Two Minute State of the Union
Emancipation, Backlash, and the Recurring Chains That Bind Us In June 2026, New York Times opinion writer Mara Gay published a piece condemning the systematic dismantling of Black-majority congressional districts across the South as a “shocking betrayal” of the democratic … Continue reading “I’m Gonna Leave You, Mister Backlash”
This July, Three-Fifths Magazine confronts the uncomfortable truths of American progress with our powerful new theme: “Backlash: As American as Baseball and Apple Pie.” In a month traditionally reserved for celebrating idealized notions of American identity, we peel back the … Continue reading “Backlash: As American as Baseball and Apple Pie.
The Confederacy is often remembered as a failed rebellion that ended with the Civil War in 1865. Militarily, that is true. The Confederate States of America surrendered, its government collapsed, and the Union was preserved. If we are honest about … Continue reading The Burial America Never Held
In 1977 the Combahee River Collective (CRC), a collective of Queer Black feminist organizers, wrote a political analysis based on their lived experiences in U.S. society and in multiple social movements and organizations. They stated that, “If Black women were … Continue reading Pursuing Collective Liberation and Well-Being: Insights from Intersectionality and Research about Gendered Racism and BIPOC Women’s Sexual, Reproductive, and Mental Health
Three-Fifths 