When she's not reading submissions, CNF Editor Sufiya Abdur-Rahman is reading recent books by Rachel L. Swarns @rachelswarns.bsky.social and by CT 9 contributor Kristin Keane. Cherry Tree is open for submissions til October 1 at cherrytree.submittable.com/submit

For those of us shaken by the news today and searching for some historical context to make sense of it all, I’m re-listening to this interview with Steven Hahn, the Pulitzer Prize winning historian of Reconstruction and, more recently, the author of Illiberal America. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/23/o...

I loved telling this story. It is the story of slavery in the north, too often overlooked, and the story of the unexpected friendship between two women – one Black and one white – who confronted this history together. In these times, that feels like a balm.

That marked the beginning of a journey that has carried Bruno from the archives in upstate New York – where she documented her family’s enslavement of scores of people – to Washington, DC where she finally met a descendant linked to a family her ancestors had enslaved.

Debra Bruno loved telling stories about her Dutch ancestors in upstate New York...until a historian told her: “If you have Dutch ancestors in the Hudson Valley, they were probably slave owners.” www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/u...

Here's your Friday morning dose of fox kit cuteness. Could see this attack coming from a mile away! #wildlife #fox

I'm excited to be speaking about my forthcoming book, The Second Emancipation, at the Schomburg Library's Centennial Festival tomorrow at 1. www.publishersweekly.com/9781324092452

Debra Bruno loved telling stories about her Dutch ancestors in upstate New York...until a historian told her: “If you have Dutch ancestors in the Hudson Valley, they were probably slave owners.” www.nytimes.com/2025/06/13/u...

RFK Jr. said multiple times during his house and senate hearings today that no scientists have been fired from federal agencies. Our reporting has shown that hundreds, if not thousands, of scientists have been let go from NIH/CDC/FDA

You can read more here www.nytimes.com/2025/05/09/w...

Pope Leo’s ancestors had roots in Black Catholic communities that were deeply impacted by the Church’s involvement in and support of slavery/segregation. That they held on to their faith and worked to make the Church responsive to a diverse flock – and produced our new pope! -- inspire me.

Pope Leo’s ancestors had roots in Black Catholic communities that were deeply impacted by the Church’s involvement in and support of slavery/segregation. That they held on to their faith and worked to make the Church responsive to a diverse flock – and produced our new pope! -- inspire me.

Hidden legacies! Our new American pope was born in Chicago, but his maternal ancestors were Creoles of color from New Orleans, according to Jari Honora, a genealogist and family historian at the Historic New Orleans Collection. #PopeLeoXIV

It's the story of America that we hold in our genes. ❤️💙

Hidden legacies! Our new American pope was born in Chicago, but his maternal ancestors were Creoles of color from New Orleans, according to Jari Honora, a genealogist and family historian at the Historic New Orleans Collection. #PopeLeoXIV

Join us! Hope to see you there!

Though prolonged incidents of racism can lead to symptoms like those experienced with PTSD, I have heard stories from experts and interviewees that these experiences can also inspire activism and involvement in advocacy and civil rights.

I have interviewed experts who explain that hate crimes instill fear, distrust, and psychological distress within affected communities. This often restricts freedom of movement and social interaction within a community.

The effects of hate crimes are severe for adolescents, with young people experiencing anger, fear, and social withdrawal, studies show. Experts explain that when youths are not in a position to make sense of hate crime experiences, they internalize them in ways that impact their racial identity.

For many Black communities, the trauma of hate crimes does not end when the attack stops. Hate crimes can lead to mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, thoughts of suicide, PTSD, and substance use, according to a 2023 article by the American Psychological Association.

Experts expressed that a community's desire for retaliation can lead to collective action, sometimes in a radical way. Thank you @rachelswarns.bsky.social! This assignment has taught me a lot about the struggles my community faces.

I found my passion in journalism at 15 after experiencing anti-Asian hate and seeing reporters amplify my voice. Now, victims feel like their stories are not important just because the media moved on. In @rachelswarns.bsky.social’s class, I’m digging into how that silence fuels more hate.

Some advocates say the mental health impacts of these laws corresponds with an increase in suicidiality. Transgender and gender-nonconforming teens in states that passed anti-trans laws targetting minors had up to a 72% increase in suicide attempts, according to a 2024 survey by the Trevor Project.

The ACLU tracked 533 anti-LGBTQ bills nationwide in the 2024 legislative session, including hot topic items such as gender-affirming care bans for minors and "Don't Say Gay" laws. These laws, and several Trump administration executive orders, specifically target minors.

Thank you to @rachelswarns.bsky.social for this assignment.

The NYPD’s statistics from 2024 say that 12% of hate crimes that year were against the LGBTQ community—totaling to 78 incidents. And, the ACLU is currently tracking 563 anti-LGBTQ bills in various state legislatures. I’m looking at how this happened and its impact on the community.

Anti-LGBTQ hate crimes have been surging around the country. Some experts say that the Trump administration has emboldened people to commit them. What does that mean for the queer community?

Gen Z is more likely than any other generation to identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Despite growing acceptance and tolerance, queer young people are feeling increasingly vulnerable. For @rachelswarns.bsky.social's class, I'm writing about why that is, and how young people are coping:

What does hate look like in New York City? My undergraduate students at nyu.edu have been poring over court records, interviewing lawyers, victims and scholars as they report on hate crimes – and the battle to combat them -- across the city.

So honored to have joined the scores of writers and scholars who gathered in Montgomery this weekend for an incredible conference: Telling the Stories of Black Lives through Biography! It was sponsored by @biographersintl.bsky.social, which creates a wonderful community for all of us. Such a balm!

So honored to have joined the scores of writers and scholars who gathered in Montgomery this weekend for an incredible conference: Telling the Stories of Black Lives through Biography! It was sponsored by @biographersintl.bsky.social, which creates a wonderful community for all of us. Such a balm!

Join us!

Do you have a biography or a memoir that you’ve been dreaming about writing? Please join us in Montgomery, Al. on March 21-22 for the first national Black biography conference in 40 years! You'll find registration information here: biographersinternational.org/montgomery-b...

Sponsored by the Biographers International Organization, the conference will bring together award-winning authors and folks just getting started to talk about the joys and challenges of the craft. Hope to see you there! biographersinternational.org/montgomery-b...

Do you have a biography or a memoir that you’ve been dreaming about writing? Please join us in Montgomery, Al. on March 21-22 for the first national Black biography conference in 40 years! You'll find registration information here: biographersinternational.org/montgomery-b...

Soccer in January. It’s 35 degrees with a real feel of 28. Someone clearly loves this game! (And someone clearly loves this kid!)

Diving in! Heading back to New Orleans, circa 1849

Oakland. Next Monday. With Dylan Penningroth.

It is truly wild that it is estimated that more than 20 million people died of Covid and the prevailing vibe is that the world overreacted. That is an astonishing toll! More people died of Covid in the US than in the Civil War. www.pbs.org/newshour/hea...

So thrilled to start the New Year in the archives! I dove right back into 1840s Louisiana this morning, plantations, cotton, sugar, planter fortunes and glimpses of the enslaved people whose forced labor powered it all.

A U.S. Congresswoman disappeared for the last six months of her term. Nobody noticed. Turns out she's in a memory care unit, & her staff (and apparently other people?) covered it up (though she was somehow propped up for an event a month ago?) WILD story

This is an incredible testament to the loss of local news coverage. A congresswoman disappeared for six months and no one noticed.

Some Dallas journalists were wondering why a local congresswoman was MIA — and wow, this is what they found dallasexpress.com/tarrant/excl...

Maybe one of the reasons there are so many unhinged academics is that in order to keep your job, you’re constantly required to tout yourself as a Scholar of World-Historical Significance, even as your office’s ceiling tiles slowly dislodge themselves to fall on your head.

Bizarrely accurate. Folks writing tenure/promotion letters have to discuss other scholars place in comparison to peers in the world, while each year those same scholars had to scrape together the funds to do research abroad. The defunding of universities as status quo has been true my whole career.

Oh my 👀 bsky.app/profile/chad...

Seeing these abysmal numbers at a time when affirmative policies are being stripped away reminds me of this mask-off moment from David Azerrad, who said that colorblind policies will lead to the total exclusion of Black ppl in higher ed. www.theguardian.com/us-news/arti...