"How to Bloom in Dark Places” by Warsan Shire
Poet Warsan Shire tells the story of a young Somali-born refugee in this poem from the film Brave Girl Rising.
![The short film, "Brave Girl Rising" was produced by the nonprofit organization Girl Rising in collaboration with the International Rescue Committee.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/shorthand_image140of143.jpeg?h=4dc35482&itok=n38DLgVw)
Hope Frye's Testimony on Child Migrant Detention
Immigration lawyer Hope Frye describes the conditions at child migrant detention centers in her congressional hearing testimony.
![Undocumented immigrant families walk from a bus depot to a respite center after being released from detention in McAllen, Texas, U.S., July 27, 2018.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/PerspectivesonDetention_RTX6D3SR_fullres_Medium_res.jpg?h=c9f93661&itok=on7f84Gi)
The Influence of "The Birth of a Nation"
The three-hour silent film The Birth of a Nation did “incalculable harm” to Black Americans by creating a justification for prejudice, racism, and discrimination for decades to follow.
![Member of Ku Klux Klan holding a torch on a horse.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/REC_12_The_Birth.jpg?h=da7ce804&itok=o8NJxzoX)
A Lifeline for Democracy
In her 2005 commencement speech at the University of Vermont, Ruth Simmons describes experiences that helped her escape the poverty and discrimination of her youth to become the president of Brown University.
![Book cover of American flag with faces over it.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Reconstruction_cover_large.jpg?h=51bee232&itok=yY8xN3AK)
Louisiana White League Platform (1874)
The White League was a paramilitary group responsible for widespread violence against black and white Republicans in Louisiana and Mississippi. The group’s platform from 1874 is articulated here.
![Book cover of American flag with faces over it.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/Reconstruction_cover_large.jpg?h=51bee232&itok=yY8xN3AK)
Family Names
Learn how filmmaker Macky Alston learned about the history of his family name and its connection to his family's legacy in the United States.
![Bayeté Ross Smith’s 2010 series "Our Kind of People" examines how clothing, ethnicity, and gender influence our ideas about identity, personality, and character.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2010_OurKindofPeoplecombined_FH2170284.jpg?h=52649bae&itok=_jsHfuii)
Family Names
In Spanish, learn how filmmaker Macky Alston learned about the history of his family name and its connection to his family's legacy in the United States.
![Bayeté Ross Smith’s 2010 series "Our Kind of People" examines how clothing, ethnicity, and gender influence our ideas about identity, personality, and character.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2010_OurKindofPeoplecombined_FH2170284.jpg?h=52649bae&itok=_jsHfuii)
Still Me Inside
A teenager describes how changing her appearance affected the way that others perceived her identity and how she thought about herself.
![Female student learning in a classroom.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2015_AD9A0664_FH221025.jpg?h=59f9d53c&itok=m4cVPcs7)
Still Me Inside
In Spanish, a teenager describes how changing her appearance affected the way that others perceived her identity and how she thought about herself.
![Female student learning in a classroom.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/2015_AD9A0664_FH221025.jpg?h=59f9d53c&itok=m4cVPcs7)
Two Names, Two Worlds
Jonathan Rodríguez reflects on his name through poetry. How does his name “place him in the world”?
Two Names, Two Worlds (en español)
In Spanish, Jonathan Rodríguez reflects on his name through poetry. How does his name “place him in the world”?