Now Viewing: The Struggle for Freedom, Equality, and Social Justice

Responding to Horrors: U.S. Refugee Policy in the Post-Vietnam War Period
To what extent do specific historical events shape U.S. refugee policy?
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The Struggle for Equality: Black Burials in the Old Willimantic Cemetery
To what extent did burial practices reflect the status of enslaved people and free Black people in Connecticut?
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Anti-Racist Allies and Accomplices in Connecticut History
In what ways are both anti-racist allies and anti-racist accomplices important in the struggle for social justice?
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Telling Their Stories: African Americans in the American Revolution
How do historians reconstruct the stories of people from the past?
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The Role of Enslaved People in Founding Connecticut
Why should enslaved people be seen as “founders” of Connecticut?
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Amos Beman: Freeman, Freedom Fighter, and Agent of Change
How do people become agents of change within systems of oppression?
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William Lanson: New Haven Entrepreneur, Abolitionist, and Black Governor
In a land of opportunity, how have the successes of African Americans, Indigenous, Latinx, and other People of Color challenged the status quo?
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The Triumph and Tragedy of Urban Renewal
Who decides what infrastructure is good for people?
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Freedom and Liberty in 1776
What did “freedom” mean at the time of the American Revolution?
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A Petition for Freedom in 1779
How did laws and rules in the colonies both promote and hinder freedom and equality?
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LGBTQ+ History in Connecticut: Advocacy and Organization
How did the modern LGBTQ+ movement develop and evolve in Connecticut?
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LGBTQ+ History in Connecticut: Colonial Era Laws and Legislation
How did colonial laws marginalize LGBTQ+ individuals?
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LGBTQ+ History in Connecticut: Medical Marginalization
How were LGBTQ+ individuals marginalized through medicalization in the 20th century?
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Zoning: Examining Housing Policy in Connecticut
How have rules about housing shaped Connecticut?
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Religious Freedom for Jews in Connecticut
How did Jewish immigrants expand religious freedom in Connecticut?
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Dr. Jewel Plummer Cobb: A Role Model in STEM and Higher Education
To what extent is it easier for women and people of color to enter the fields of STEM and higher education today than it was in the 1950s–1990s?
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Housing Segregation in Connecticut
In what ways is segregation still practiced in the United States today?
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From Freedom Seeker to American Success: James L. Smith in Norwich
To what extent was the North a “land of opportunity” for people of color in the early 1800s?
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Mary Townsend Seymour: A Hartford Activist Fights for Equity
In what ways have communities of color advocated for equity?
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Empowering Students’ “Civic Voices” in Local and State Government: Elementary
Why is it important that students use their “civic voices” in local and state government to produce positive change?
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Empowering Students’ “Civic Voices” in Local and State Government: Middle/High
Why is it important that students use their “civic voices” in local and state government to produce positive change?
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Asian American History in the Civil War Era: Connecticut’s Connection to the Trade in Indentured Chinese Workers
How have American conceptions of freedom and equality changed throughout U.S. history for members of various racial, ethnic, religious, and gender minority groups?
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Cruel and Unusual: An Interdisciplinary Study of Incarceration Across Two Centuries
What is “cruel and unusual” punishment?
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Words Change the World: Teaching About Racial Injustice Through the Work of Harriet Beecher Stowe and Ta-Nehisi Coates
To what extent can fiction and non-fiction both help us learn, change, and adapt our understanding of an historic or contemporary moment?
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Late 1960s Civil Unrest in Connecticut’s Capital City
What conditions led to civil unrest in the 1960s?
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Hate Speech, Free Speech, and the First Amendment: The Church of the Creator Comes to Wallingford
Should public spaces be open to all types of speech?
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Bilingual Education for Spanish Speakers in 1970s Hartford
How have communities advocated for fair and equal access to education in Connecticut?
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The Black Panthers and the May Day Rally in New Haven
How is the First Amendment used to advocate for justice in America?
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Church & State in the “Land of Steady Habits”
Has there ever been complete separation of church and state in Connecticut?
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Who Gets to Vote? History of Voting Rights in Connecticut and the United States
How have the American conceptions of freedom and equality changed over time?
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Black World War I Veterans Demand Civil Rights
How did World War I impact the struggle for civil rights in Connecticut and America?
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The Amistad Incident and the Face of Slavery
What role did the Amistad incident play in the abolitionist movement in the United States?
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Connecticut Women and the Women’s Suffrage Movement
How have American concepts of freedom and equality changed since the 1870s? How might the changes be perceived differently by different segments of the population?
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Accused: 17th-Century Witch Trials
What factors led to the 17th-century witchcraft trials in Connecticut?
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Venture Smith: From Slavery to Connecticut Businessman
How can a former slave prosper in a colony where slavery is legal?
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Abolition and African Americans in Connecticut
In what way did the abolition of slavery indicate progress, or decline, for the lives of African Americans?
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