The Republic of Imagination (excerpt)
Author Azar Nafisi discusses the roles of literature and imagination in both repressive states and democracies.
What Is Democracy?
Use this selection of quotes about democracy to prompt reflection on democracy's complex definition.
![English language newspaper from election day with an "I voted" sticker.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-08/media_democracy_newspaper_voting_wikimedia_commons.jpeg?h=424dc15a&itok=URCrHs-G)
What Is Democracy? (en español)
Use this selection of quotes about democracy to prompt reflection on democracy's complex definition.
![English language newspaper from election day with an "I voted" sticker.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-08/media_democracy_newspaper_voting_wikimedia_commons.jpeg?h=424dc15a&itok=URCrHs-G)
What Is Interfaith Leadership? by Eboo Patel
Read the introduction to Eboo Patel’s new book in which he shares a powerful example of interfaith leadership in a rural Oklahoma community.
Names and Freedom
Historians Douglas Egerton and Leon Litwack explain the process of freedpeople adopting new surnames.
![A group of African Americans soberly observe Juneteenth in their hats, canes and bonnets in Austin, TX, 1900.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Emancipation_Day_celebration_-_1900-06-19%20%281%29.jpg?h=6ea8326e&itok=2mUmYjCx)
Names and Freedom (en español)
In Spanish, historians Douglas Egerton and Leon Litwack explain the process of freedpeople adopting new surnames.
![A group of African Americans soberly observe Juneteenth in their hats, canes and bonnets in Austin, TX, 1900.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Emancipation_Day_celebration_-_1900-06-19%20%281%29.jpg?h=6ea8326e&itok=2mUmYjCx)
Immigrants: First Generation
Nigerian-born poet Ijeoma Umebinyuo pays tribute to the stories of immigrants and the lives they lead in the United States in this "prose poem."
![High school student participates in class.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2017_FacH07163_FH256119.png?h=2992ba0a&itok=o5SHUUZF)
Immigrants: First Generation
Read in Spanish as Nigerian-born poet Ijeoma Umebinyuo pays tribute to the stories of immigrants and the lives they lead in the United States in this "prose poem."
![High school student participates in class.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2017_FacH07163_FH256119.png?h=2992ba0a&itok=o5SHUUZF)
Blackbelt
A high school student reflects on being raised by his older brother and the legacy of the karate blackbelt his brother gave to him.
![Profile of a male high school student.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2017_Roosevelt.HS26_FH260865.jpg?h=e6cb4de8&itok=PdGIjN4O)
Blackbelt (en español)
In Spanish, a high school student reflects on being raised by his older brother and the legacy of the karate blackbelt his brother gave to him.
![Profile of a male high school student.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2017_Roosevelt.HS26_FH260865.jpg?h=e6cb4de8&itok=PdGIjN4O)
“Chameleon” by David L.
A teenager recalls a time he bought shoes to fit in with his high school friends.