| Please welcome guest host Julie Zauzmer Weil, who covers D.C.'s local government for The Washington Post. In the fall of 2020, shortly after a summer of protests for racial justice on the streets of D.C., Washington did something that a lot of cities have done lately: Local leaders published a list of buildings, parks and streets they thought should be renamed because of their namesakes' historical wrongdoings. As a local reporter covering D.C.'s city government, I wanted to learn why each historical figure was on that list. Many of the men listed were enslavers. And late that night, I noticed that several of them had been in Congress. I goggled, "Members of Congress who were slaveholders." I was sure that a list would pop right up. It didn't. I scrolled through the Google results. There was no list. In some sense, I knew that very night that I would make this list someday. I hope many readers find it useful, whether that means historians analyzing early American political decisions who download my data, descendants of both enslaved people and enslavers who are researching their own family histories, or residents of towns where those renaming debates are underway. And the project is not finished; while I found more than 1,700 enslavers in Congress, I am still seeking answers about more than 600 additional congressmen. I hope readers will help me complete the work.  The Washington Post has compiled the first database of slaveholding members of Congress by examining thousands of pages of census records and historical documents. By Julie Zauzmer Weil, Adrian Blanco and Leo Dominguez ● Read more » | | | | By Danielle Douglas-Gabriel and Susan Svrluga ● Read more » | | |  The family of Martin Luther King Jr. is calling for "no celebration" on MLK Day if Congress has not passed voting rights legislation. On Friday, Jan. 14 at 11:00 a.m. ET, Martin Luther King III, the late civil rights leader's eldest son and the chair of the Drum Major Institute, discusses his push around voting rights, what he thinks Congress should do about the filibuster and the lessons from his father's enduring legacy. By Washington Post Live ● Read more » | | | |
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