Public figures from New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to Madonna have declared that the coronavirus epidemic is the great equalizer. The phrase is echoed by those who want to believe this catastrophe can unite us as a country. But COVID-19 does not put us all in the same boat, rich and poor, black and white. Quality healthcare and protection from disease has always depended on income and race. This has been true at least since the beginning of the 20th century. 

Who’s afraid of socialism? According to some pundits, everyone should be. Today’s adherents of democratic socialism have greatly increased over the past few years, and not just on college campuses.

One hundred years ago— for the first time in history— African American women in Hartford went to the polls. It was November 2, 1920. Black women turned out in larger numbers than black men; the total number of white women who voted surpassed that of white men. All women had just won equal suffrage, and were determined to act on that new freedom and the political power it might provide.

Instead of arguing politics around the table on Thanksgiving, maybe we could talk about the story behind this holiday. Although that topic may be just as controversial.

As the plan to consolidate Connecticut’s public colleges moves forward, there is one thing the Board of Regents must do: take some remedial history courses. Their “Students First” scheme (so named without apparent irony) has no intention of canceling student debt or cutting the ever rising costs of college, which have increased over 1,000% since I attended the University of Connecticut. Our state’s history points to a better approach, based on the tradition, purpose, and vision of free and equal education access, promised to all American since the Founders. This approach was known as the Federal College.

Are we heading for a civil war in this country? Frankly, I don’t think so. But if we fail to oppose racist and fascist actions like those in Charlottesville, Va., we do so at our peril. Make no mistake: in Connecticut, fascist fear mongers have long been with us. While the recent reappearance of racist and neo-Nazi forces is horrifying, it’s important to take a look back on how local communities have defeated the hateful right in the past.

Nuclear power was once considered “too cheap to meter.” The “peaceful atom” was a spurious claim spread by nuke proponents, with little public opposition, after the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Dominion Energy, owner of the Millstone nuclear plant, has failed to convince our Connecticut General Assembly that it needs a new deal to ensure long-term profits. The defeat signals another corporate myth that’s been debunked. Dominion and its welfare scheme is “a toxic brand now, literally radioactive,” said Rep. Lonnie Reed, co-chair of the Energy Committee last week. “Let’s let it go and figure out a new way.”