Remember When: The Day 25,000 Women Took Over Fifth Avenue
25,000 women marched up Fifth Avenue in New York City, demanding the right to vote.
Origin Story: Woke
“Woke” began as a word of vigilance — and of care.
Rooted in African American Vernacular English, it originally meant being awake to injustice, especially racism and oppression. One of the earliest uses came in 1938, when blues singer Lead Belly warned listeners to “stay woke” to racial danger after singing The Scottsboro Boys.
Pew Research: Science Isn’t Just for Lab Coats — It’s in Everyday Life
When most people picture a scientist, they imagine a lab coat — not a farmer, electrician, or paramedic. But a new Pew Research Center survey shows Americans recognize that science lives far beyond the laboratory.
Remember When: Two Athletes Raised Their Fists — and Changed History
On October 16, 1968, during the medal ceremony for the 200-meter race at the Mexico City Olympics, American sprinters Tommie Smith and John Carlos bowed their heads and raised gloved fists in a silent salute for human rights. The gesture stunned the world.
Pew Research: Prices and Housing Top America’s Economic Worries
Most Americans still don’t like what they see in the economy: only 26% call conditions excellent or good, while 74% say they’re fair or poor. That topline hasn’t budged much in three years—but the parties have flipped positions. 44% of Republicans now rate the economy positively (their highest since Trump’s first term), compared with just 10% of Democrats.
Remember When: Celebrating Jesse Jackson and Coalition Politics
On October 8, 1941, Jesse Louis Jackson Sr. was born in Greenville, South Carolina. A close ally of Dr. King, Jackson led Operation Breadbasket to leverage Black consumer power for fair hiring and pay, later founding the Rainbow PUSH Coalition to advance voting rights, economic justice, and human dignity.
Origin Stories: Antifa
“Antifa” is short for “anti-fascist.” Its roots trace back to Europe in the 1920s and 1930s, when militant leftists organized to resist the rise of fascist regimes in Italy and Germany. The name resurfaced in the 1980s with punk and skinhead groups in Germany, who fought neo-Nazi violence in their streets.
Pew Research: Social Media Empowers — and Distracts — Americans in Politics
Social media gives a voice to the voiceless.
Social media also makes us feel like we’re changing the world… when maybe we aren’t.
Pew Research: TikTok Is Becoming America’s Newsroom
TikTok isn’t just for dance challenges anymore — it’s becoming America’s newsroom. A new Pew study finds one in five U.S. adults now regularly get news on TikTok, up from just 3% in 2020. In fact, no other social media platform Pew has studied has experienced faster growth in news consumption during that time. Among adults under 30, that share has soared to 43%. Even a quarter of 30-to-49-year-olds now use TikTok as a news source. More than half of TikTok’s users overall say they consume news there — rivaling Facebook, X, and Truth Social.
Remember When: Gandhi’s Peaceful Resistance Changed the World
On October 2, 1869, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi — known to the world as Mahatma Gandhi — was born in India. His life became a testament to the extraordinary power of nonviolent resistance.
Pew Research: Public Confidence in Supreme Court Near Historic Low
Americans are losing faith in the nation’s highest court. A new Pew Research Center survey finds that half of U.S. adults now view the Supreme Court unfavorably — nearly a three-decade low — while 48% hold a favorable opinion. That’s a sharp drop from 2020, when 70% of Americans said they viewed the Court positively.
Remember When: Anna Deavere Smith
On this day, September 18, we celebrate the birthday of Anna Deavere Smith — actor, playwright, professor, and a groundbreaking force in American theater.
Origin Stories
Love it or hate it, the Internal Revenue Service has been around nearly as long as the United States itself. Its roots stretch back to the Civil War, when President Abraham Lincoln signed the Revenue Act of 1862, creating the office of Commissioner of Internal Revenue and imposing the nation’s first federal income tax. The tax was meant to fund the Union’s war effort — and it worked, bringing in millions of badly needed dollars.
Pew Research: Most Americans Say Declining Unions Hurt Workers and the Nation
Pew Research Center reports that union membership has fallen dramatically over the past four decades — from 20% of American workers in 1983 to fewer than 10% in 2024. Most Americans say that decline has hurt not just workers but the country itself.
From an Orphan in St. Croix to Wall Street: Hamilton’s American Dream
On September 11, 1789, Alexander Hamilton was appointed by George Washington as the nation’s first Secretary of the Treasury.
Origin Stories: Bureau of Land Management
Vast deserts, mountain ranges, open plains — nearly one in every ten acres of the U.S. is overseen not by states, but by a little-known federal agency: the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Pew Research: 7 in 10 Americans say Misinformation is the Nation’s Top Threat
Forget nukes, pandemics, or even terrorism — most Americans today believe the biggest danger comes from something far closer to home: lies spreading online.
Remember When: The March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom
Sixty-two years ago today, a quarter of a million people filled the National Mall in Washington, D.C., in one of the largest demonstrations for justice in American history: the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
Pew Research: Young LGBTQ Americans Dream of Marriage
Ten years after the Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage, young Americans — LGBTQ and non-LGBTQ alike — still dream of saying “I do.”
Remember When: Latvia Declared Independence
Thirty-four years ago today, on August 21, 1991, the people of Latvia reclaimed their freedom. After decades of Soviet control, the Latvian parliament declared independence from the USSR — even as tanks rolled through the streets of Riga.