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Wilmington, North Carolina once had a thriving Black middle class and an elected interracial government. In 1898 white supremacists used violence to overthrow that government, kill Black residents and drive many others from the city.
MORE →Reflects the personal views, recollections, and perspective of the author, Mike Davis.
This is a personal recollection on the Move fire on May 13, 1985
A deal with the Devil or Faustian bargain is a cultural trope exemplified most famously by the legend of Faust, who was signed a contract with the demon Mephistopheles in exchange for knowledge and pleasure. Similar stories are also elemental to many Christian traditions. The pact between a person and the Devil or another demon generally involves trading one's soul for diabolical favours, which vary by the tale, but tend to include youth, knowledge, wealth, fame and power. It was also believed that some people made this type of pact just as a sign of recognising the minion as their master, in exchange for nothing. The bargain is a dangerous one, as the price of the fiend's service is the wagerer's soul. For most religions, the tale may have a bad end, with eternal damnation for the foolhardy venturer. Conversely, it may have a comic twist, in which a wily peasant outwits the devil, characteristically on a technical point. The person making the pact sometimes tries to outwit the devil, but loses in the end (e.g., man sells his soul for eternal life because he will never die to pay his end of the bargain. Immune to the death penalty, he commits murder, but is sentenced to life in prison). A number of famous works dating back to the early Middle Ages refer to pacts with the devil, from the numerous European Devil's Bridges to the violin virtuosity of Giuseppe Tartini and Niccolò Paganini to the "crossroad" myth associated with Robert Johnson. The tale of Faust gained notoriety in the English world following Christopher Marlowe's play The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus (c. 1592), and then Goethe's Faust, which was published in two parts in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, became an international hit and gave new life to the legend. In Stith Thompson's Motif-Index of Folk-Literature, "Bargain with the devil" constitutes motif number M210 and "Man sells soul to devil" motif number M211.
The Devil-Doll is a 1936 American horror film directed by Tod Browning and starring Lionel Barrymore and Maureen O'Sullivan. The film was loosely influenced by the novel Burn Witch Burn! (1932) by Abraham Merritt. It has become a cult film. A French scientist is worried about human overpopulation. He creates a formula able to shrink humans, in order for the planet's resources to last longer. He dies shortly after a prison escape, and his former cellmate decides to use the formula in a revenge scheme. The former prisoner targets the people who had originally framed him for bank robbery and murder.
"Sympathy for the Devil" is a song by the English rock band the Rolling Stones. The song was written by Mick Jagger and credited to the Jagger–Richards partnership. It is the opening track on the band's 1968 album Beggars Banquet. The song has received critical acclaim and features on Rolling Stone magazine's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list, being ranked number 106 in the 2021 edition.
The Devil Wears Prada is a 2006 American comedy-drama film directed by David Frankel and produced by Wendy Finerman. The screenplay, written by Aline Brosh McKenna, is based on the 2003 novel by Lauren Weisberger. The film stars Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Stanley Tucci, and Emily Blunt. It follows Andy Sachs (Hathaway), an aspiring journalist who gets a job at a fashion magazine but finds herself at the mercy of her demanding editor, Miranda Priestly (Streep). 20th Century Fox bought the rights to a film adaptation of Weisberger's novel in 2003, before it was completed, but the project was not greenlit until Streep was cast. Principal photography lasted 57 days across September to December 2005, primarily taking place in New York City. Additional filming took place in Paris. The Devil Wears Prada premiered at the LA Film Festival on June 22, 2006, and was theatrically released in the United States on June 30. It received positive reviews, particularly for Streep's performance; she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and was nominated as Best Lead Actress for the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, SAG, and Critics' Choice. The film grossed $327 million worldwide against a budget of $35–41 million. A sequel, The Devil Wears Prada 2, was released in May 2026. Most designers and other fashion figures avoided appearing as themselves, reportedly for fear of displeasing the American Vogue editor Anna Wintour, who is widely believed to have been the inspiration for the character of Miranda Priestly. However, Wintour stated she enjoyed the film and Streep's performance in particular.
Before the 1921 destruction of Tulsa’s Greenwood District, Black residents had created a remarkable center of business and community life. The district included stores, professional offices, entertainment venues and homes owned by Black citizens. Understanding Greenwood means learning what was built—not only what was burned.
MORE →Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.