Jurretta Heckscher
@jurretta.bsky.social
Cultural historian & writer; ret. Early American Specialist, Main Reading Rm., Lib. of Congress. Orthodox Christian; politics follow Matt. 25:31-46. Lover of arts & natural world (N. America & Brit. Isles). Stop climate change, or little else will matter.
Pinned
Reposted by Jurretta Heckscher
In less than a week the Kennedy Center has effectively closed and our local DC paper has been gutted, both by billionaires.
I don’t think immigrants are our problem in this country.
I don’t think immigrants are our problem in this country.
February 4, 2026 at 5:38 PM
In less than a week the Kennedy Center has effectively closed and our local DC paper has been gutted, both by billionaires.
I don’t think immigrants are our problem in this country.
I don’t think immigrants are our problem in this country.
Let’s give the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to the people of Minneapolis.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Minnesota Proved MAGA Wrong
The pushback against ICE exposed a series of mistaken assumptions.
www.theatlantic.com
January 27, 2026 at 6:08 PM
Let’s give the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize to the people of Minneapolis.
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
Whether the cause was naïveté or careless planning, this situation is appalling, infuriating— and entirely foreseeable, given this moment in history. Didn’t that occur to those who gathered the data???
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/u...
(Free access)
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/u...
(Free access)
Genetic Data From Over 20,000 U.S. Children Misused for ‘Race Science’
www.nytimes.com
January 24, 2026 at 4:54 PM
Whether the cause was naïveté or careless planning, this situation is appalling, infuriating— and entirely foreseeable, given this moment in history. Didn’t that occur to those who gathered the data???
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/u...
(Free access)
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/u...
(Free access)
An extremely important book that will fundamentally alter our understanding of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
British crown was world’s largest buyer of enslaved people by 1807, book reveals
Exclusive: Author of The Crown’s Silence tells how navy and monarchy protected slave trade for hundreds of years
www.theguardian.com
January 24, 2026 at 5:38 AM
An extremely important book that will fundamentally alter our understanding of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...
Reposted by Jurretta Heckscher
"Slavery was real"
Tiny sign at the base of a brick wall that, until yesterday, held panels about the people enslaved by George Washington.
Presidents House, Philadelphia.
Tiny sign at the base of a brick wall that, until yesterday, held panels about the people enslaved by George Washington.
Presidents House, Philadelphia.
January 23, 2026 at 3:22 PM
"Slavery was real"
Tiny sign at the base of a brick wall that, until yesterday, held panels about the people enslaved by George Washington.
Presidents House, Philadelphia.
Tiny sign at the base of a brick wall that, until yesterday, held panels about the people enslaved by George Washington.
Presidents House, Philadelphia.
Reposted by Jurretta Heckscher
Wise words from WEB DuBois to gird us today: "It would be shame and cowardice to surrender this glorious land and its opportunities for civilization and humanity to the thugs and lynchers, the mobs and profiteers, the monopolists & gamblers who today choke its soul and steal its resources."
January 22, 2026 at 5:00 PM
Wise words from WEB DuBois to gird us today: "It would be shame and cowardice to surrender this glorious land and its opportunities for civilization and humanity to the thugs and lynchers, the mobs and profiteers, the monopolists & gamblers who today choke its soul and steal its resources."
The Trump administration is not even pretending to disguise its racism and falsification of U.S. history anymore (free article):
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...
National Park Service Dismantles Slavery Exhibit in Philadelphia
www.nytimes.com
January 23, 2026 at 5:16 AM
The Trump administration is not even pretending to disguise its racism and falsification of U.S. history anymore (free article):
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/u...
Reposted by Jurretta Heckscher
This is stunning. Listen to this in Philadelphia.
Thousands singing “Hey-Oh, we won’t be silent while our friends are gunned down.”
Really listen to it.
Thousands singing “Hey-Oh, we won’t be silent while our friends are gunned down.”
Really listen to it.
January 11, 2026 at 4:55 AM
This is stunning. Listen to this in Philadelphia.
Thousands singing “Hey-Oh, we won’t be silent while our friends are gunned down.”
Really listen to it.
Thousands singing “Hey-Oh, we won’t be silent while our friends are gunned down.”
Really listen to it.
TRUMP DOCTRINE:
You’re a Venezuelan fleeing unauthorized to the U.S. to escape terrible poverty? We’ll hunt you down, attack you, & throw you into a hellhole prison with no appeal.
You’re the United States coveting Venezuela’s oil? Invade Venezuela, conquer it, and go grab all the oil you want!
You’re a Venezuelan fleeing unauthorized to the U.S. to escape terrible poverty? We’ll hunt you down, attack you, & throw you into a hellhole prison with no appeal.
You’re the United States coveting Venezuela’s oil? Invade Venezuela, conquer it, and go grab all the oil you want!
January 3, 2026 at 6:11 PM
TRUMP DOCTRINE:
You’re a Venezuelan fleeing unauthorized to the U.S. to escape terrible poverty? We’ll hunt you down, attack you, & throw you into a hellhole prison with no appeal.
You’re the United States coveting Venezuela’s oil? Invade Venezuela, conquer it, and go grab all the oil you want!
You’re a Venezuelan fleeing unauthorized to the U.S. to escape terrible poverty? We’ll hunt you down, attack you, & throw you into a hellhole prison with no appeal.
You’re the United States coveting Venezuela’s oil? Invade Venezuela, conquer it, and go grab all the oil you want!
A truly tragic loss for all who care about historical truth. May his courageous legacy of justice and human decency live on. (Free link)
wapo.st/49k4ha6
wapo.st/49k4ha6
He exposed the myth of the South’s ‘Lost Cause.’ His death shook Richmond.
William “Bill” Martin, 71, died Sunday, Dec. 28, a day after being struck by a car near the Valentine local history museum where he had served as director more than 30 years.
wapo.st
January 2, 2026 at 4:39 PM
A truly tragic loss for all who care about historical truth. May his courageous legacy of justice and human decency live on. (Free link)
wapo.st/49k4ha6
wapo.st/49k4ha6
👇🏻(Article is paywall-free, btw.)
December 31, 2025 at 7:43 PM
👇🏻(Article is paywall-free, btw.)
NASA’s Largest Library Is Closing Amid Staff and Lab Cuts
www.nytimes.com
December 31, 2025 at 7:39 PM
A tragically premature loss. Peace to all who love her. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Tatiana Schlossberg, granddaughter of John F Kennedy, dies aged 35
www.bbc.com
December 30, 2025 at 8:05 PM
A tragically premature loss. Peace to all who love her. www.bbc.com/news/article...
Merry Christmas, everyone— and joy to all, whether or not you celebrate the feast!
Don’t forget to feed your animals first tonight, since they came first to the manger (Russian folk tradition).
bsky.app/profile/anto...
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Don’t forget to feed your animals first tonight, since they came first to the manger (Russian folk tradition).
bsky.app/profile/anto...
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Carol of the Bells in #
Kyiv subway.
Voices of the Embassies of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom came together to perform Shchedryk in the Kyiv metro as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine.
Thankful to everyone who stands with us!
Kyiv subway.
Voices of the Embassies of Germany, France, and the United Kingdom came together to perform Shchedryk in the Kyiv metro as a sign of solidarity with Ukraine.
Thankful to everyone who stands with us!
December 25, 2025 at 1:30 AM
Merry Christmas, everyone— and joy to all, whether or not you celebrate the feast!
Don’t forget to feed your animals first tonight, since they came first to the manger (Russian folk tradition).
bsky.app/profile/anto...
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Don’t forget to feed your animals first tonight, since they came first to the manger (Russian folk tradition).
bsky.app/profile/anto...
Christ is born! Glorify Him!
Reposted by Jurretta Heckscher
Christmas Eve, John Everett Millais, 1887. ~ a favourite of mine.
December 24, 2025 at 9:58 PM
Christmas Eve, John Everett Millais, 1887. ~ a favourite of mine.
Reposted by Jurretta Heckscher
😝😝😝🤣🤣🤣
Donald Trump, the whole world is laughing at you now.
Donald Trump, the whole world is laughing at you now.
December 18, 2025 at 9:38 PM
😝😝😝🤣🤣🤣
Donald Trump, the whole world is laughing at you now.
Donald Trump, the whole world is laughing at you now.
So, they went ahead with this noisome policy even after claiming they’d backed off it. But no: apparently it’s too important.
December 17, 2025 at 1:16 AM
So, they went ahead with this noisome policy even after claiming they’d backed off it. But no: apparently it’s too important.
Reposted by Jurretta Heckscher
We are failing our kids
December 16, 2025 at 3:06 PM
We are failing our kids
Really nice surprise to catch @agordonreed.bsky.social on CNN with Anderson Cooper just now, cutting to the heart of the matter, as usual.
December 9, 2025 at 1:37 AM
Really nice surprise to catch @agordonreed.bsky.social on CNN with Anderson Cooper just now, cutting to the heart of the matter, as usual.
Have historians made a huge mistake? We assume we know how people felt in past times: pretty much the way we would under the same circumstances. These maverick scholars make a powerful case that our assumption is fundamentally unwarranted.
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
A Radical New Approach to Human History
The historians who want to know how our ancestors experienced love, anger, fear, and sorrow
www.theatlantic.com
December 5, 2025 at 6:32 PM
Have historians made a huge mistake? We assume we know how people felt in past times: pretty much the way we would under the same circumstances. These maverick scholars make a powerful case that our assumption is fundamentally unwarranted.
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
www.theatlantic.com/magazine/202...
Reposted by Jurretta Heckscher
NEW: Infectious diseases like malaria, dengue, and tuberculosis are considered to pose a major challenge to global health.
The study warns that climate change, poverty, and drug resistance are combining to create a rising crisis - a potential 'creeping catastrophe' if ignored.
The study warns that climate change, poverty, and drug resistance are combining to create a rising crisis - a potential 'creeping catastrophe' if ignored.
New study warns of 'creeping catastrophy' as climate change drives a
Infectious diseases such as malaria, dengue, and tuberculosis are considered to pose as great a challenge to global health as new or emerging pathogens, according to a major international study led
www.ox.ac.uk
December 2, 2025 at 1:43 PM
NEW: Infectious diseases like malaria, dengue, and tuberculosis are considered to pose a major challenge to global health.
The study warns that climate change, poverty, and drug resistance are combining to create a rising crisis - a potential 'creeping catastrophe' if ignored.
The study warns that climate change, poverty, and drug resistance are combining to create a rising crisis - a potential 'creeping catastrophe' if ignored.