What take-out food reveals about US history
From fast-food restaurants to pizza delivery, the history of take-out food can tell us plenty about American history because what we eat and how we eat it, often reflects the changes taking place in society at any particular time. “You can learn a lot from food,” says Emelyn Rude, a food historian and author of Tastes […]
Want to Reach US Hispanics? Try Texting Them
The youngest major racial or ethnic group in the United States is the nation’s Latino population. Fifty-eight percent — nearly 6-in-10 — of U.S. Hispanics are millennials (approximately ages 18-33) or younger, according to the Pew Research Center. By comparison, half of the black population, and 46 percent of the Asian population, are in that […]
Newspaper Ads Show Freed Slaves’ Desperate Search for Lost Relatives
After emancipation, some African American families that were torn apart by slavery turned to newspaper ads in hopes of finding lost loved ones. These “information wanted” advertisements primarily appeared in black-oriented newspapers, which sprang up after the end of the U.S. Civil War. A series of “Lost Friends” ads that appeared in a New Orleans […]
More than One-Third of US Innovators Are Immigrants
More than one-third of U.S. innovators are foreign born which suggests highly educated immigrants just might be one of America’s most valuable resources. Despite only making up 13.5 percent of all U.S. residents, 35 percent of those responsible for some of the most important innovations in America are foreign-born people who usually have a PhD […]
How Diversity Has Changed America
Over the past four decades, the level of diversity in the United States has increased most in California, Nevada, New Mexico and Texas. In 1970, California — currently the most diverse state in the nation — had a population of about 20 million and the overwhelming majority of its residents — 17.8 million — identified […]
Death Graph: Here’s What’s Killing Americans at Every Age
. One-third of Americans die from respiratory diseases, like the flu, while older Americans are much more likely to die from cancer. There are many ways that people die and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) breaks those ways down into 113 causes, and then groups them into 20 categories of diseases and external causes. This CDC […]
1855 Slave Brochure Starkly Details Sale of Black Americans
One hundred and fifty-three years ago this September, President Abraham Lincoln issued the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation declaring his intention to free all slaves in the rebellious states if the South did not end the fighting and rejoin the Union by Jan. 1, 1863. At that time, the country was embroiled in the U.S. Civil War, […]
How US Has Defined Black Americans Since 1820
Issues of race and ethnicity can be complicated in the United States, and nowhere is that more evident than in the U.S. Census. The census, which counts every resident in the United States every 10 years, has classified black Americans as a separate race since 1820. But the way the census has referred to Africans […]
6 Facts About Black Americans in Honor of Black History Month
Every year in February, the United States commemorates the achievements of black Americans. In 2013, there were more than 38 million black Americans, a 74 percent increase since 1970. The population is expected to grow to more than 55 million by 2060, according to the Pew Research Center. In honor of Black History Month, Pew […]