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This short story—acclaimed as one of the earliest examples of American realism—paints a bleak picture of industrial workers' lives in the mid-1800s.

In this poem, the speaker represents all Native Americans or individuals labeled as Other and persecuted as a result.

Are voter ID laws meant to prevent voter fraud or suppress voter turnout among eligible minority groups? Prior to the 2012 presidential election, a majority of states considered such laws. In this article, Patricia Smith explores the two viewpoints.

Lyndon B. Johnson delivered this commencement address to Howard University graduating students in 1965. Johnson recognizes the plight of African Americans and describes the kind of civil rights progress he would like to see as president.

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.

McIntosh's article details the ways in which white people—male and female—are given unacknowledged advantages. She focuses on situations in which skin-color is the dominant priveleging factor (over class, religion, ethnic status, or geographic location) but acknowledges that many of these attributes are interconnected.

In this vignette, eight-year-old Mikey spends two nights in a homeless shelter, where he and his family are too afraid to sleep for fear that someone would steal their things. The family then meets a caseworker who helps them into a temporary apartment while they work toward a more permanent home.

When dreams and opportunities are pushed out of reach, only so many avenues offer recourse.

Doreen Rappaport tells the story of a young Suzie King Taylor and her brother who attended a secret school for black children in Georgia in the mid-1800s. Later on, Taylor would become the first black woman to teach openly in a freedmen's school.

From a novel that raised public consciousness about conditions in the meatpacking industry, these excerpts provide a glimpse into early 20th century industrialization from labor's vantage point.