Opinion In the PNW, Confederate flag controversies are not new Recent incidents in the region and a secession movement in Oregon show the Civil War era and its divisions still echo in the Northwest. by Knute Berger / July 19, 2021
Opinion How the Confederacy shaped the American West and cowboy culture In arguing that the South won the Civil War, historian Heather Cox Richardson points to the paradox of the cowboy and how it presents an enduring dilemma for our democracy. by Knute Berger / June 3, 2021
Opinion The legacy of racism built into Northwest highways and roads From the Oregon Trail to the Lake Washington Bridge, transportation infrastructure has often driven growth while promoting exclusion. by Knute Berger / April 27, 2021
Opinion U.S. mishandling of COVID echoes the 20th century eugenics movement A false belief in the genetic superiority of virus survivors may help explain the Trump administration's mismanagement of coronavirus. by Knute Berger / December 1, 2020
Opinion It's not so hard to imagine a life without police Like many white Americans, I grew up unencumbered by the punitive presence of law enforcement. Black Americans deserve this, too. by Mason Bryan / June 15, 2020
Opinion White innocence is a fantasy. Here's how I'm confronting it The killing of George Floyd presents yet another opportunity for white self-reckoning. by Mason Bryan / May 29, 2020
Opinion From Civil Rights to COVID-19: ‘Without truth, you don’t have justice’ Investigative reporter Jerry Mitchell has deepened the public memory of the Civil Rights Era. His reporting offers important lessons for today. by Knute Berger / May 25, 2020
Opinion Yes, there were black slaves in the Pacific Northwest. Historians are making our region confront it An Oregon author is exploring little-known chapters of the region's ugly, racist roots. by Knute Berger / September 30, 2019 / Updated at 4:14 September 30, 2019
Opinion Seattle's homelessness emergency, in one photo Talk of the city's many crises obscures the overarching problem — a crisis of inequality. by Mason Bryan / September 27, 2019
Culture How a PNW cowboy shattered 19th-century gender norms Harry Allen was an outlaw of a different sort. by Knute Berger / March 20, 2019