Pop music provides not just the soundtrack to our lives, as the cliche goes; it releases our emotions and helps us to articulate them. This is why music is so important to adolescents, who are struggling with questions of identity and self-expression. Sarah Churchwell adolescentarticulatecliche share on social
The legacy of slavery comes from the sustained political, legal and economic effort to link permanently an entire group of people to poverty - and to mystify that systematic disenfranchisement by making up something called race, which could serve as a distraction. Sarah Churchwell calldisenfranchisementdistraction share on social
History is prone to mistakes in identity, and facts are not always solid things. Sarah Churchwell facthistoryidentity Change image and share on social
Music - not just the lyrics, but the music itself - expresses confused or illicit passions: rage, lust, envy, frustration, channeling these energies and creating an outlet for them. Sarah Churchwell channeleconfusecreate Change image and share on social
In all likelihood, the only thing extraordinary about Tiger Woods was his golf: he had extraordinary coordination and extraordinary discipline - on the course, at any rate. That discipline was the source of his power. Sarah Churchwell coordinationdisciplineextraordinary share on social
In one sense, Obama's point couldn't be clearer: race is a distraction from class-based inequities. And if we dismiss working-class resentment as camouflaged racism, we will continue to be distracted by the spectre of race. Sarah Churchwell basecamouflageclass share on social
Racism is an effect of slavery, not the other way around. Once slavery was abolished, not only did racism not disappear, neither did the economic system it upheld. Sarah Churchwell abolishdisappeareconomic Change image and share on social
Expression and thought are inextricably linked: crude language permits only crude thinking. Sarah Churchwell crudeexpressioninextricably Change image and share on social
History resembles a guest list in that sense of the invited and the gatecrashers: the people for whom we have been waiting, and those whose presence takes us unawares. Sarah Churchwell gatecrasherguesthistory Change image and share on social
Textbooks are no longer given to schoolchildren; they're too expensive. So they're given to the teachers, who probably need them more. Sarah Churchwell expensivelongschoolchild Change image and share on social
