Racism

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 excerpt from his memoir, Rodriguez provides a stirring recollection from his adolescence: the first time he experienced racism as a result of being an immigrant in America. As he says, the experience "stays with [him] like a foul odor."

In this poem, a black woman carefully analyzes her interaction with a white waitress, whose actions, although civil, are smoldering with superiority.

"Hope, Despair and Memory" is an address given by Elie Wiesel on December 11, 1986, the date Wiesel was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Wiesel is an author and humanitarian and is known for writing about his experience as a survivor of the Holocaust.