Joe Biden will be sworn in as the oldest president in the nation’s history, displacing Ronald Reagan, who left the White House in 1989 when he was 77 years and 349 days old.

Kamala Harris made history Saturday, shattering barriers that have kept men — almost all of them white — entrenched at the highest levels of American politics for more than two centuries.

In November 1920, change was in the air as the country geared up for a presidential election in the wake of a global pandemic and racial unrest. Sound familiar? We check out  “Decision 1920” at the Newberry Library.

After a summer of social unrest and calls to remove some monuments, activists are still pushing for the city to change the name of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day. How some groups envision reteaching the history of Christopher Columbus.

Jimmy Carter, who served just a single term in the White House, is widely seen as a model ex-president but largely unsuccessful president. Now, the 96-year-old is the subject of a full-length, independent biography.

With the nation racing to come to grips with centuries of racial sins, officials plan to remove the Capitol lawn statue of Stephen A. Douglas, whose forceful 19th century politics helped forge modern-day Illinois but who also profited from slavery.

In a year when the coronavirus pandemic has reshaped countless American rituals, even the commemoration of 9/11 could not escape unchanged.

After a three-year, student-led grassroots campaign, the Chicago Park District Board of Commissioners voted to officially remove the name of Stephen Douglas from what’s now temporarily known as Park 218. 

The painful legacy of Emmett Till seems fresh amid this era of civil unrest. We reflect on his death with Ollie Gordon, Till’s cousin, and Chris Benson, who co-authored an autobiography of Mamie Till-Mobley, Till’s mother.

It was a huge step forward for American women when, exactly 100 years ago, they finally gained the guaranteed right to vote with ratification of the 19th Amendment. But to Alice Paul, the step wasn’t nearly large enough.

Civil rights activist Ruby Bridges has written a children’s book with a candid telling of the past and positive message for the future, inspired by the Black Lives Matter protests.

After protests forced Mayor Lori Lightfoot to remove the city’s statues of Christopher Columbus, the city will launch an effort to “provide a vehicle to address the hard truths of Chicago’s racial history,” the mayor’s office announced Wednesday. 

Thursday marks the 55th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act. Where the fight for ballot access goes next.

Is it time to abolish, or radically alter the way history is taught in Illinois schools? A debate over how the subject is taught.

He took memorable pictures of Martin Luther King Jr. and traveled with writer James Baldwin. Steve Schapiro talks about what he witnessed in the United States back then — and what he is seeing today.

The Secret Service agent who took a bullet to protect President Ronald Reagan has spent the last 26 years as chief of police in Orland Park. We speak with Tim McCarthy ahead of his Aug. 1 retirement.