Past and Present

The death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020 at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer has ignited a global groundswell of protests decrying systemic police brutality against Black Americans. The Black Lives Matter marches and rallies have forced a reevaluation regarding Confederate statues throughout the United States.

In fourteen-hundred and ninety-two, Columbus sailed the ocean blue—and discovered that the Earth, despite the beliefs of the Catholic Church and Spanish royalty—was round. Right?

If we are going to root out anti-Semitism, we need to educate ourselves about where it comes from. Let's dig in.

White people don't have exclusive rights to the Middle Ages; African-American writers, thinkers, poets, and artists have been inspired by the medieval world for centuries.

Jeff Sessions' latest dog-whistle has roots in the medieval, and is yet another attempt to weaponize the Middle Ages for racist purposes. Part XLIII of Race, Racism and the Middle Ages, by Ken Mondschein.

The final scenes of The Last Jedi are straight out of a 14th-century medieval tale. But Rian Johnson has turned the medieval message on its head and thrown a gauntlet to alt-Right fascism. Asa Mittman explores. Part XLII of Race, Racism and the Middle Ages.

Swastikas were used in early medieval art. But that doesn't mean they should be worn by reenactors. Ken Mondschein explores in part XLI of our series Race, Racism and the Middle Ages.

The Race, Racism and the Middle Ages series has been more than we could have ever thought it would be. Here we take a moment to pause, reflect, and look forward. Part XXXX, by Paul B. Sturtevant.

Is that Thor's hammer a symbol of hate or not? What about that Celtic tattoo? Or that flag? In a world gone mad, how do you keep your cool? Part XXXIX of Race, Racism and the Middle Ages, by Paul B. Sturtevant.