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January 15, 2021
The fallout continues to mount from the January 6 attack on the Capitol. In previous blog posts, we offered a collection of resources and articles and explored the question of accountability for elected officials. In this post, we examine a thorny issue that is also emerging as institutions respond to riots: the power of private […]
January 13, 2021
The events at the Capitol on January 6 are forcing voters and elected officials to face some challenging questions. In a previous blog post, we provided some resources to help you begin to address some of these questions; in an upcoming post, we will examine other questions related to free speech. In this post, we […]
January 08, 2021
On January 6, 2021, Congress convened to certify the Electoral College results of the 2020 presidential election and to affirm the victory of President-elect Joe Biden. Although there has been no evidence of voter fraud, a group of Republican legislators planned to object to the certification process, saying they wanted Congress first to create an […]
November 17, 2020
On Saturday, November 7, most major media outlets declared Joe Biden the winner of the 2020 presidential election.1 While the Biden team has already begun its informal transition, it has not yet been granted access to intelligence briefings, office space, or other elements of a formal transition.2 This formal transition cannot happen until the General […]
October 13, 2020
Journaling Task: Reflecting On Political Violence On October 8, the FBI announced that it had thwarted a plot led by a right-wing militia to kidnap and potentially assassinate Governor Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich.1 Whitmer, in an op-ed published in the Washington Post, laid some of the blame at the feet of President Donald Trump, writing: I’m […]
June 04, 2020
On Monday, May 25, a Minneapolis police officer named Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd by kneeling on his neck for over eight minutes.1 The next day, video of the killing went viral; by the end of the day, large groups had begun protesting in Minneapolis. In the week since, protests have spread to many major […]
June 02, 2020
Over the past week, we have witnessed an outpouring of grief and rage that reminds us—again—that democracy is always in the making and that we have a responsibility both to reflect and to act. As civic educators, we naturally turn our attention to what we can do, and what we can teach, that might further […]
May 05, 2020
As the novel coronavirus continues to dominate the headlines, the American public is facing an onslaught of information about the pandemic. Social and traditional media are covering developments, spreading opinions, and broadcasting statistics about COVID-19. There has been a strong association between coronavirus media coverage and an increase in public attention on the virus itself […]
March 24, 2020
In the face of the spreading COVID-19 pandemic, government officials and medical experts are calling on people all over the world to practice social distancing.1 In general, this means canceling events and gatherings, avoiding large groups and crowds, and, when possible, staying home. Many people are working from home,2 schools have closed or moved online,3 and […]
March 23, 2020
The COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak is believed to have started at a wildlife market in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. It is unclear which species transferred the virus to humans, but scientists largely agree on the point of origin.1 The 2002 outbreak of SARS, another type of coronavirus, began under similar circumstances.2 LISTEN: A 13-minute podcast […]
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