The Alien and Sedition Acts were passed by a Federalist Congress and signed into law by President John Adams in 1798 at a time when Adams feared the possibility of war with France.

In this video, photojournalist Ben DeSoto discusses "Understanding Poverty," an exhibit featuring images of people and communities affected by poverty and homelessness.

The American Psychological Association (APA) published “Facing the School Dropout Dilemma: The interaction of sexual orientation with school dropout rates” on its website in 2012. The APA is widely regarded as the most prominent professional organization for psychologists in the United States.

It may seem like an empty stomach is the worst thing about being poor, but for Junior it’s not being able to save his best friend.

In this excerpt, the narrator, a young Chinese girl, poses as a boy with forged papers, trying to gain entry into the United States. When she realizes the American immigration agents are checking identity papers at the dock, she fights past them and runs for her life.

In this introduction, Alice Walker touches on ideas of activism, the strength of the individual, enlightenment, fear of being inferior and the conviction needed to embrace one's life.

Although her husband died in the September 11 attack, Arissa is targeted for being Muslim. In this excerpt, she is held up by a group of men who berate her and threaten to kill her until they realize she is pregnant.

In this video, young people reflect on society's rules for what males and females can and cannot do.

This graphic from Mother Jones magazine depicts income inequality in the United States.

In this personal narrative, Clare explores multiple facets of the self and questions why gender is still discussed as a binary. She acknowledges the tortured lives that many have lived as a result of their gender ambiguity and declares that all those who "gawk," "gape," and "stare" at those who are different never get it right.

LGBT school leaders speak to a group of students about their own identities and explain why it’s important to ask questions and learn more about people who are different from ourselves.

Rosie Molinary describes how she felt as a Latina teenager in the United States, caught between disparate and unrealistic beauty standards.

In this essay, the author unpacks the original definition for "savage" from the 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language, explaining the ironic vantage point through which settlers viewed Native Americans.

In this essay, the author details how tension built and violence erupted—specifically against Muslim Americans—in the days following the September 11th attacks.

In this interview, Luis Rodriguez describes how the systemic demoralization he faced in school and society at a young age drove him to join a street gang and how writing his book, Always Running, was an attempt to call his son and other young people in similar situations to change their lives.

This excerpt gives a first-person account of Equiano’s forced transatlantic voyage, including being brought on board, the horrors of being on deck and being sold in the yard once the ship reached land.

In this cartoon, people of all sexes, ages, shapes and sizes are lined up outside the Gospel Mission, waiting for food. A mother in line remarks that they donated to this Mission just last year, inciting the feeling that circumstances can quickly change.

This graphic from Mother Jones depicts income inequality in the United States.

This article presents facts and statistics pertaining to the media's negative influence on female body image, the diet industry's booming numbers, and the link between media and peer pressure to look younger and stay thinner.

This 2010 news segment considers the cause and impact of the rising poverty level in the United States.

Are American Indian names, mascots and logos insulting or honorable? Veronica Majerol outlines the debate, citing evidence from local high school students, the N.C.A.A, and a founder of the National Coalition on Racism in Sports and the Media.

In this article, Disability Rights and Resources outlines appropriate behavior, conversational cues, and common courtesies to internalize and enact when spending time with a person with a disability.

In this essay, Melvin Pichardo, a young aspiring actor, becomes so immersed in becoming a character for a role that he begins to question who he is as a person and what he feels and thinks.

Eighteen-year-old Sandra exemplifies a strong sense of self, as she talks to her peers about why she doesn’t conform to societal gender norms.