Iowa In Focus: Understanding Systemic Racism In Iowa
Screenshot from Mapping Inequality
White Iowans own their homes at nearly three times the rate of Black Iowans, one of the biggest racial homeownership gaps in the country. Nationally, this gap is wider than it was 50 years ago, because discriminatory housing policies and practices of the past and present are still hurting Black families and their ability to build generational wealth.
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The Black Gospel Archive at Baylor University is the world's largest digital collection of gospel music. Now, it wants to collect oral histories around its rare recordings. -
Black architects who helped shape the modern architecture movement have often been overlooked. One effort preserves the structures they designed and tells their stories. -
Formerly enslaved people would placed ads in newspapers hoping to find lost children, parents, spouses and siblings. Historian Judith Giesberg tells the stories of some of those families in a new book. -
The Department of Education's efforts to keep racial diversity out of schools has left educators wondering how and when to teach students about Black history, especially during Black History Month. -
April 2025 marks 50 years since the end of the Vietnam War. In Washington, D.C., a new art exhibit offers counter-narratives of what it means to be Vietnamese American. -
Friday, February 21st marked the 60th anniversary of the death of civil rights leader Malcolm X. NPR's Ayesha Rascoe reflects on his legacy with his daughter, Ilyasah Shabazz.
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Black history happens every day, and the stories from NPR listeners are good examples of that. From becoming the first Black mayor of a town to singing music about change, these stories matter. -
Malinda Russell's A Domestic Cookbook was first published in 1866. It contains least a hundred recipes for sweets, plus recipes for shampoo and cologne – and remedies for toothaches.
