One of the by-products of our long road to confront our racial history is the question, “What do we do with the artifacts of our past?”  From century-old minstrel shows and advertising slogans like “Dis sho’ am good!” to the recent flaps over Uncle Ben and Aunt Jemima, we seem to be in a constant...

Shortly after the Twin Towers fell on 9/11, video stores across the country reported a big spike in rentals for two older movies: Die Hard and The Towering Inferno.  It’s easy to see why:  Both movies posited a disaster in a doomed building that tested the resolve of heroes, and a day to be won by a combination...