When the blustery winds blow steadily from the north and a dusting of snow carpets the ground, it’s easy to picture a scene from a Hallmark holiday movie – people strolling down a festive street, cups of hot cocoa warming mittened hands. It certainly seems appropriate that National Cocoa Day falls on December 13, the time of year when the days are getting longer and colder and when bakers and confectioners are whipping up dreamy, chocolatey concoctions. As picture-perfect this scene might be, let’s step away from this winter wonderland and take a moment to examine cocoa through a legal lens, revealing in the process that cocoa does indeed have a darker side.
Read more13 Executed Soldiers and the Convictions Overturned 106 Years Later
Image Credit: Prairie View A&M University
Today we pay tribute to 13 Black soldiers who were hanged on December 11, 1917, for alleged participation in Houston’s Camp Logan Riot. Click the links within to learn about the context of this historical event and the men whose convictions were overturned just last month, 106 years later.
Read moreThe Apparatus of Search…and of Play
Our goal in sharing the apparatus of search is to help information seekers more intuitively grasp the complexity of sophisticated database queries and to achieve better information outcomes. Constructing complex search strings can be difficult, but building proficiency as an expert-level searcher can be fun! Understanding the multidimensionality of search and leveraging the power of its complexity might even begin to feel like play.
Read moreLifting Native American Culture and Voices
The Friday after Thanksgiving is National Native American Heritage Day, although it is perhaps more commonly thought of as Black Friday, a coincidence that some have rebuked, as it links a reverent celebration of Native peoples and culture with the start of the holiday shopping season and the busiest most consumer-driven day of the year. Some have suggested alternatives to the rampant consumerism of the day: acknowledge native land, explore the many digital exhibits available online at the National Museum of the American Indian, or lift up indigenous voices by learning more about the continuing struggle to give Native Americans equal access at the ballot box. Review the links provided within.
Read moreIsrael and Hamas October 2023 Conflict
The unprecedented Israel-Hamas War ignited a global response, and many are seeking reliable resources to illuminate the political, geographic, religious, and cultural issues at the root of the conflict. The following libraries have published research guides listing primary sources, books and academic articles with historical and contemporary analysis, and national and international news sources, as well as guidance for evaluating information presented on social media and the news. As with any source of information or news, readers are encouraged to critically examine these resources.
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