Representative Hakeem Jeffries
Credit: © lev radin/Shutterstock

On Tuesday, January 3, 2023, Hakeem Jeffries became the first Black person to lead a party in the United States Congress. As the leader of the Democratic Party in Congress, Jeffries will fill the role formerly held by Representative Nancy Pelosi, who was speaker and minority leader of the House of Representatives since 2003. His success was overshadowed by the dramatic chaos of Republican Representative Kevin McCarthy’s campaign to be elected Speaker of the House, which continued for days for the first time in a century. In 2022, the Democratic Caucus of the House of Representatives elected Jeffries minority leader. Jeffries became a member of the House in 2013. He represents a district of New York that includes the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens.

A Brooklyn native, Hakeem Sekou Jeffries was born on Aug. 4, 1970. His father was a substance abuse counselor, and his mother was a social worker. Jeffries graduated from New York’s Binghamton University in 1992 with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He continued his studies, earning a master’s degree in public policy at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Jeffries returned to New York City to enroll in the New York University School of Law, graduating with honors in 1997.

After law school, Jeffries clerked for Judge Harold Baer, Jr., of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. He then practiced law at a private firm. He later served as litigation counsel for the media companies Viacom Inc. and CBS. Jeffries ran for the New York State Assembly in 2000 and 2002, losing to the incumbent Roger Green. When Green vacated the post in 2006, Jeffries ran and won the election, serving in the role for three terms.

In 2012, Jeffries was elected to his first term in the U.S. House of Representatives. He served on the House Judiciary Committee and the House Budget Committee. In 2018, Jeffries was appointed to serve as the chairman of the House Democratic Caucus for the 116th Congress. In 2020, he served as impeachment manager for the Senate trial of former President Donald Trump. Jeffries’s political priorities include criminal justice reform and economic and health care security.

African American writer Zora Neale Hurston
Credit: Library of Congress

Born on January 7, 1891, in Eatonville, Florida, Zora Neale Hurston grew up to become a legendary writer. Hurston was an African American writer known for her novels and collections of folklore. Hurston’s best-known novel is Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937). The story sensitively portrays a young African American woman’s realization of her identity and independence.

Hurston studied anthropology at Barnard College, graduating in 1928. Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity and of human culture. Hurston recognized the significance of the folklore of the Southern United States and the Caribbean countries. She collected Florida folk tales and descriptions of Louisiana folk customs in Mules and Men (1935). In Tell My Horse (1938), she described folk customs of Haiti and Jamaica.

Hurston wrote three other novels—Jonah’s Gourd Vine (1934), Moses, Man of the Mountain (1939), and Seraph on the Suwanee (1948). All her novels display the author’s gift for storytelling, her interest in Southern Black folk customs, her metaphorical language, and her robust sense of humor. Hurston also wrote an autobiography, Dust Tracks on a Road (1942). She died on Jan. 28, 1960.

In 1995, the Library of America published two volumes of Hurston’s writings, Novels & Stories and Folklore, Memoirs, & Other Writings. A collection of her folk tales from the rural South was published for the first time in 2001, after Hurston’s death, as Every Tongue Got to Confess. Her account of the life of the last survivor of the last American slave ship, titled Barracoon: The Story of the Last “Black Cargo,” was published in 2018. Hurston had interviewed the 86-year-old formerly enslaved man in 1927. A number of her early stories were collected for the first time in Hitting a Straight Lick with a Crooked Stick (2020). Some of her essays were collected in You Don’t Know Us Negroes and Other Essays (2022).

Brazilian soccer star Pelé
Credit: © Nelson Antoine, Shutterstock

World-renowned soccer star, Pelé passed away in São Paulo, Brazil, on Thursday, December 29th. Despite retiring in 1974, Pelé still held world records for the sport. Pelé a Brazilian athlete, won fame as the greatest soccer player of his time and the most recognized athlete in world sports.

A forward, Pelé electrified crowds with his daring dribbling, perfect passing, and accurate shooting. He holds every major scoring record in Brazil, and scored 1,281 goals in 1,363 games during his professional career. Pelé is the only professional soccer player to score 1,000 goals in a career.

Pelé, a Brazilian athlete, won fame as the greatest soccer player of his time and became one of the most recognized athletes in the world. A forward, Pelé thrilled crowds with his daring dribbling, perfect passing, and accurate shooting.
Credit: © AFP/Getty Images

Pelé was born on Oct. 23, 1940, in Tres Coracoes, Brazil. His real name is Edson Arantes do Nascimento. Pelé joined the Santos (Brazil) Football Club in 1956 and led Santos to world club titles in 1962 and 1963. He is the only soccer player to have played on three world championship teams, leading the Brazilian national team to World Cup championships in 1958, 1962, and 1970. Pelé is the only player in the world who has won three World Cup championships.

In the 1958 World Cup, Pelé was 17 years old. He scored six goals in the tournament, including two in the final to defeat Sweden. His skill landed Brazil their first of five World Cups.

Pelé retired as a player in 1974 but returned to competition in 1975 with the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League (N.A.S.L.). Pelé retired again after leading the Cosmos to the N.A.S.L. championship in 1977. He is known for popularizing soccer in the United States. He wrote a children’s book about his life in soccer, For the Love of Soccer! (2010).

Indigenous peoples of the Americas: cultural areas
Credit: World Book map

People in the United States observe Native American Heritage Month each year in November. During this period, many Native tribes celebrate their cultures, histories, and traditions. It is also a time to raise awareness of the challenges Indigenous people have faced in the past and today, along with their contributions to the United States as its first inhabitants.

Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the first people who lived in North America or South America, and their descendants. Indigenous means original or native. Indigenous people had been living in the Americas for thousands of years before any Europeans arrived. They formed hundreds of tribes with many different ways of life.

Scholars called anthropologists, who study human culture, classify the hundreds of North American Indigenous tribes into groups of tribes with strong similarities. These groups are called culture areas. The culture areas of Canada and the United States are (1) the Arctic; (2) the Subarctic; (3) the Northeast, often called the Eastern Woodlands; (4) the Southeast; (5) the Plains; (6) the Northwest Coast; (7) California; (8) the Great Basin; (9) the Plateau; and (10) the Southwest.

Arctic cultural area
Credit: World Book map

Most Arctic peoples lived in small bands along the seacoast, moving often in search of food. Seals were the primary food. Sealskin was widely used for making shelters and boats, clothes, tools, and other goods. Arctic peoples adapted to the modern world while preserving much of their traditional way of life.

Subarctic cultural area”
Credit: World Book map

The Subarctic was thinly populated. Tribes consisted of small bands, related through marriage. Food was often scarce, and the people moved about hunting and gathering wild plants, berries, and nuts. Most Subarctic peoples live in areas set aside for them, called reserves in Canada and reservations in the United States.

Northeast cultural area
Credit: World Book map

In the Northeast, the Iroquois and most Algonquian groups lived mostly by growing corn, beans, and squash. Some of the northernmost groups depended more on hunting, gathering, and fishing. Many tribes now live in Oklahoma and various Western states. Many Iroquois became leaders in the struggle for the rights of Indigenous people in Canada and the United States.

Southeast cultural area
Credit: World Book map

The adequate rainfall and long growing season enabled Southeastern peoples to grow large quantities of corn. They traveled either on foot or in wooden dugout canoes. Women had much power and influence among most Southeastern groups. Today, Southeast tribes try to maintain a balance between traditional and modern ways of life.

Plains cultural area
Credit: World Book map

When the Spaniards brought the horse to the Plains in the 1600’s, a new way of life appeared. On horseback, the Plains peoples could follow the great herds of buffalo. Nearby tribes, and those forced westward by the advancing white people, quickly adopted the Plains way of life. Communication across tribes led to the development of the Plains sign language.

Northwest Coast cultural area
Credit: World Book map

Among tribes of the Northwest Coast, a few families had great influence in each village because of their ancestry and wealth. Totem poles, carved from tree trunks, became more common with the iron tools brought by the white traders. Totem poles showed the social rank and ancestry of a family or individual.

California cultural area
Credit: World Book map

Tribes in the California area consisted of one or a few villages of extended families. Acorns were the most important food. Women gathered acorns, washed them, and pounded them into flour. The women then cooked the flour to make acorn mush or bread. The Pomo were famous for their basket making.

Great Basin cultural area
Credit: World Book map

The tribes of the Great Basin consisted of many small bands. Each band had a home territory near a lake or a stream that provided a reliable supply of water and fish. Pine nuts were the most important single source of food. Today, many Indigenous people of the Great Basin live as ranchers and farmers.

Plateau cultural area
Credit: World Book map

The tribes living in the Plateau consisted of bands of extended families. During the summer, bands traveled their territory in search of food. In the winter, they lived in villages. Plateau peoples mainly ate wild bulbs and roots, berries, and salmon and other fish. Today, many Plateau peoples live on reserves or reservations.

Southwest cultural area
Credit: World Book map

The early peoples of the Southwest included several tribes. The Pueblo tribes had one of the most highly developed civilizations in North America. They were excellent craftworkers. Most Pueblo lived in villages and farmed along rivers that provided water for irrigation. The Navajo, a hunting and gathering tribe, are today one of the largest Indigenous groups in the United States. The Navajo have become noted for weaving blankets and rugs and making silver jewelry.

Leonardo Fibonacci, shown in this engraving, was an Italian mathematician best known for describing a famous sequence of numbers—1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, and so on. Each number is the sum of the two numbers before it.
Credit: © Science Source/Getty Images

The countdown is over! We made it to the best day of the year. Fibonacci Day has finally presented itself on every calendar throughout the world. Every year on November 23rd, mathematicians celebrate the Leonardo Fibonacci, an Italian mathematician. Fibonacci helped introduce into Western Europe the system of numerals still widely used today. This system—which uses the numerals 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9—is known as the Hindu-Arabic numeral system. Fibonacci was known during his life as Leonardo of Pisa. He was given the nickname Fibonacci sometime after his death. But why do we celebrate him on 11/23? Fibonacci is best known today for a famous sequence of numbers—1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, and so on—that bears his name. By definition, the first two numbers are 1 and 1. Every other number equals the sum of the two numbers immediately before it. Since the first four numbers are 1, 1, 2, 3, we dedicate 11/23 to Fibonacci each year.

Why is the Fibonacci sequence important? Good question. Mathematicians have found use for it in many branches of mathematics. The sequence has led to the discovery of the golden ratio or divine proportion. The golden ratio is a number that appears in many areas of math, nature, and art. The golden ratio is: which is equal to about 1.61803.

By dividing one number in the sequence by the number before it, you get very close to the golden ratio. The never-ending sequence gradually gets closer to this ratio, never actually equalling it. The German astronomer and mathematician Johannes Kepler discovered this pattern in the Fibonacci sequence. The Fibonacci sequence also appears in nature. The pattern of seeds on a sunflower, for example, follows the Fibonacci sequence.

The large, beautiful sunflower is raised by farmers in many parts of the world. A sunflower head may measure more than 1 foot (30 centimeters) across.
Credit: John M. Coffman, NAS

Just as the golden ratio appears in nature, so do Fibonacci numbers. For example, the kernels of a pine cone form two sets of spirals. One set runs clockwise, and the other set runs counterclockwise. The number of spirals in each set is always a Fibonacci number, usually 8, 13, or 21. This pattern is a natural consequence of mathematical principles that underlie the plant’s growth.

Around 1192, Fibonacci went to Algeria with his father, a merchant from Pisa. There he learned Arabic and studied the mathematical knowledge of the Islamic world, which in many ways surpassed that of Europe. Later, he traveled to many surrounding countries on business and became convinced that the Hindu-Arabic numeral system was superior to the Roman numeral system then being used in Europe.

Young dancers participate in a Powwow on July 23, 2016, in Couer d’Alene, Idaho.
Credit: © Gregory Johnston, Shutterstock

People in the United States observe Native American Heritage Month each year in November. During this period, many Native tribes celebrate their cultures, histories, and traditions. It is also a time to raise awareness of the challenges Indigenous people have faced in the past and today, along with their contributions to the United States as its first inhabitants.

Across the country, people are gathering for powwows big and small to celebrate Native American Heritage Month. Through dancing, traditional food and regalia, and other traditions, Indigenous communities celebrate their culture and community. For many communities, these will be the first large powwows held since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020. The Choctaw Nation hosted one of the country’s largest and most well known powwows in Oklahoma earlier in the month. Some powwows honored Indigenous veterans on Veterans Day.

A powwow is a ceremony of dancing practiced by Indigenous (native) peoples of the United States and by First Nations, Indigenous peoples of Canada. The term powwow comes from the Algonquian word pau wau, meaning healer. The gathering lasts several days and includes dancing, drums, feasts, regalia (traditional attire), and singing. Powwows have their roots in traditional Indigenous religious ceremonies and meetings. Today, they may serve as a secular (nonreligious) and public celebration.

Indigenous American cultures included traditional dances and songs. However, many Indigenous ceremonies and traditions have been outlawed by white settlers at various times. In the United States, the Religious Crimes Code of 1883 prohibited ceremonial dances. The Indian Act, first passed in 1876, is the main Canadian law governing relations between the First Nations and the federal government. In 1884, the act was amended to ban ceremonies such as potlatches and certain dances. The potlatch is a ceremony of feasting and gift-giving practiced by indigenous peoples and First Nations of the Northwest Coast region.

In the late 1800’s, traveling “Wild West” shows became popular. Shows such as that presented by the frontiersman and entertainer Buffalo Bill offered an opportunity for Indigenous performers to make money for their tribes by performing outlawed songs and dances publicly.

The Religious Crimes Code was amended to allow Indigenous dances and songs in 1933. In 1951, Canada lifted the prohibition on dances and potlatches. The United States Congress passed the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1978 to guarantee the protection of Indigenous people under the First Amendment to the Constitution. These changes enabled powwows to flourish in the 1960’s and 1970’s, when they were held during the summer.

Smaller local powwows still occur on reservations (lands set aside for Indigenous use), but larger powwows may take place in stadiums and at casinos. Indigenous elders bless the grounds before the event begins through song, prayer, and the burning of sage or tobacco. The powwow grounds are usually laid out in a series of concentric circles (circles spreading from a common center). The area for dancing and drums lies in the middle. The space around the dancers is reserved for elders and friends and family of the dancers. Outside that circle, there is room for spectators and vendors. The vendors sell traditional and modern foods, crafts, art, and clothing.

Every powwow has an emcee, a master of ceremonies. The emcee is usually a leader in the community with knowledge of the traditional ceremonies along with a modern-style education. The emcee announces events, introduces dancers, and tells stories.

Powwows begin with the grand entry, an opening parade. This tradition was adopted from the Wild West shows as well as processions at treaty signings. In a giveaway ceremony on the last day of the powwow, gifts are given from the host to the visitors or in memory of someone who died. The ceremony begins with the hosts dancing and the emcee announcing those receiving gifts.

Dancing styles are differentiated in part by the regalia worn by performers. Competitive dances for men include the fancy, grass, northern, and straight dance styles. For women, competitive dancing styles include fancy shawl, jingle dress, northern and southern buckskin, and northern and southern cloth. Dancers compete for prize money. The dance competition is organized by dance style and by the age and gender of the performers.

Drums and singing accompany the dances. Singers may sing in the language of a specific tribe or in vocables, simple nonverbal syllables that are shared among tribes.

Powwows are held the year around in major cities across Canada and the United States. A powwow may include up to 800 dancers or more. Some traditional powwows focus only on the songs and dances. Others may include such activities as rodeos, fashion shows, and music competitions. The largest powwow is the Gathering of Nations in Albuquerque, New Mexico, which may include more than 3,000 dancers.

Zitkála-Šá, Indigenous American educator
Credit: Photograph by Gertrude Kasebier; Mina Turner, National Museum of American History/Smithsonian Institution

People in the United States observe Native American Heritage Month each year in November. During this period, many Native tribes celebrate their cultures, histories, and traditions. It is also a time to raise awareness of the challenges Indigenous people have faced in the past and today, along with their contributions to the United States as its first inhabitants.

As a storyteller, teacher, playwright, politician, and violinist, Zitkála-Šá fought every boundary placed before her. Zitkála-Šá, also known as Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, was a member of the Yankton Sioux or Yankton Dakota. Born in 1876, she became an influential leader in the United States, fighting for women’s rights, the Indigenous right to citizenship and voting, and the end to the Indigenous boarding school system.

When Zitkála-Šá was about eight years old, she left the Yankton reservation to attend White’s Manual Labor Institute in Wabash, Indiana. She was required to cut her long hair and any trace of her culture. She learned to read, write, and play the violin. Zitkála-Šá did not return home until 1887. She received a scholarship to Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana. Before she graduated, Zitkála-Šá began teaching music at Carlisle Indian Industrial School in Pennsylvania. A gifted musician, she studied violin at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1899. In 1900, Zitkála-Šá accepted an invitation to travel and play with the Carlisle school’s band across the United States and at the Paris Exposition, a world’s fair.

It wasn’t long until Zitkála-Šá started using her storytelling and writing skills against the Indigenous boarding school system that employed her. The Carlisle school sent Zitkála-Šá back to the Yankton Reservation in 1900 to gather more students. There, she found her community in poverty, with run-down houses and white settlers living on her people’s land. She returned to Carlisle and began writing about Indigenous life and culture. She translated Indigenous stories into English and Latin. She criticized the Indigenous American boarding school system in essays published in the magazines Atlantic Monthly and Harper’s Magazine. In 1901, she wrote the short story “The Soft-Hearted Sioux” about a student’s loss of identity and was fired from the Carlisle school.

She returned to the reservation and began writing stories for her collection of Sioux tales and legends, Old Indian Legends (1901), while working as a clerk for the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) office at Standing Rock. In 1902, she married Captain Raymond Talesfase Bonnin. They moved to the Uintah and Ouray Reservation in Utah and had a son named Raymond Ohiya Bonnin in 1903.

Several years after moving to Utah, Zitkála-Šá picked up another medium. After befriending composer William F. Hanson, the pair wrote the first Indigenous American opera. Sun Dance (1913) was based on the then-outlawed Indigenous religious ceremony Sun dance.

After completing the play, Zitkála-Šá leaned more into her political work. She joined the Society of American Indians, which preserved Indigenous traditions while fighting for full U.S. citizenship. Zitkála-Šá lectured across the country about Indigenous culture and the right to be recognized as American citizens and to vote. Her American Indian Stories, a collection of essays on Indigenous treatment in America and in Christian boarding schools, was published in 1921.

Her efforts were partially rewarded when the Indian Citizenship Act passed in 1924. The act granted citizenship to Indigenous people, but poll taxes, literacy tests, and violence and intimidation were used to prevent many Indigenous people from voting. Of course, Zitkála-Šá and her husband continued to work for Indigenous rights and started the National Council of American Indians in 1926. She continued to work for the rights and cultural preservation of Indigenous people until her death. She died in Washington, D.C., on January 26, 1938. Zitkála-Šá is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

The Iroquois peoples of the Eastern Woodlands of North America were known for their characteristic dwellings, called longhouses, which are shown in this illustration. The Iroquois called themselves the Haudenosaunee, which means we longhouse builders.
Credit: © Stock Montage/Alamy Images

People in the United States observe Native American Heritage Month each year in November. During this period, many Native tribes celebrate their cultures, histories, and traditions. It is also a time to raise awareness of the challenges Indigenous people have faced in the past and today, along with their contributions to the United States as its first inhabitants.

Homes are the center of most cultures. Throughout history, homes have changed in materials, structure, and technology. Nowadays, many different types of homes populate neighborhoods from apartments, mobile homes, multi-family homes, row homes, and more. We can learn from the structure, organization, and togetherness that homes in history have fostered. In some cultures it is still commonplace to live with your parents after growing up. However, many people around the world opt for finding their own home out in the big, wide world. One traditional communal (shared dwelling) among Indigenous (native) people is the longhouse.

Longhouses were common among the peoples of the northeastern region of North America. They were large, rectangular houses. Longhouses ranged from about 50 to 400 feet (15 to 120 meters) long and about 18 to 23 feet (5 to 7 meters) wide. A typical longhouse was 180 to 220 feet (54 to 67 meters) long. The size of the family who lived in the longhouse determined the length of the structure. There were many perks to living in a multi-generation home. Grandparents were able to help care for children and all the adults could all pitch in to clean, cook, maintain the house, and stay organized.

The Iroquois were known for building longhouses. The Iroquois were a federation of Indigenous American groups that once occupied most of what is now New York state. From east to west, the tribes included the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. In 1722, the Tuscarora joined the Iroquois league, and the federation became known as the Six Nations. The Iroquois called themselves the Haudenosaunee. This name refers to their dwellings and means we longhouse builders. The longhouse was also a symbol of the Great Law of the Iroquois, the federation’s oral constitution, in which the sky was considered the roof of the longhouse and the floor was Earth.

Iroquois longhouses were traditionally built using saplings (young trees) with the bark removed. The wider ends of the saplings were set in holes in the ground, forming a rectangular shape. The thinner ends were then joined in the middle to form a roof. Thin strips of bark or rope were used to tie the saplings together. The frame was then covered with bark. An opening in the roof served as a chimney. Openings at either end of the longhouse covered with animal hides served as doors.

Iroquois villages included longhouses with separate sections for related families. Many Iroquois longhouses sheltered an elderly couple with separate “apartments” for each married daughter. The couple’s married sons lived in the longhouses of their wives’ families. Each new generation added a section onto the longhouse. The longhouse had a central aisle the entire length of the building. The central aisle typically held a fire used by all families within the clan.

Other Indigenous people of northeastern North America also built longhouses, including the Erie, Huron, and Mahican peoples. Some Indigenous people of the northwest coast also built longhouses. These longhouses were built using logs and split-log planks. In the northwest, longhouses were set up with one doorway facing the shore.

Musician Lizzo plays James Madison’s crystal flute
Credit: © Shawn Miller, Library of Congress

The Library of Congress let American rap artist, singer, and musician Lizzo play James Madison’s crystal flute at a concert in Washington, D.C., making history this September. The flute was given to America’s fourth president James Madison in 1813 on his second inauguration. The flute has not been played for a long time, if at all! Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden reached out to Lizzo inviting her to see the flute collection at the Library of Congress while in town for her concert. Lizzo accepted the invitation and was especially interested in trying out the precious crystal flute. Lizzo is known for playing the flute, a talent she mixes into her freestyle rapping with ease.

Melissa Jefferson was born on April 27, 1988, in Detroit, Michigan. Her family later moved to Houston, Texas. Her family was deeply religious and frequently listened to gospel music. Lizzo played flute in her high school marching band. She began rapping when she was 14. After high school, Lizzo studied classical flute at the University of Houston. She moved to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 2010, following the death of her father.

Lizzo performed with a few music groups before releasing her first hip-hop album, Lizzobangers (2013). She worked with the American pop musician Prince on his album Plectrumelectrum (2014). Her self-released second album, Big GRRRL Small World (2015), incorporated gospel, hip-hop, and R&B influences. Lizzo signed a recording contract in 2016 and released the EP Coconut Oil that year. An EP, short for extended play, is a recording considered shorter than a full album. Coconut Oil included her hit singles “Good as Hell” and “Worship.”

Lizzo, American rap artist, singer, and musician
Credit: © Aaron J. Thornton, FilmMagic/Getty Images

Lizzo gained international fame for such hits as “Good as Hell” (2016), “Truth Hurts” (2017), and “Juice” (2019). Lizzo achieved widespread popularity with her album Cuz I Love You (2019). The album reached number four on the “Billboard 200″ chart, a list of the top 200 albums compiled by Billboard magazine. The album’s hit song “Juice” reached number five on the Billboard “Hot R&B Songs” list. The success of Cuz I Love You helped to bring new attention to Lizzo’s previous work. The catchy and fun “Truth Hurts” quickly regained attention and peaked at number one on the Billboard “Hot 100” chart, as did “Good as Hell.” Lizzo has collaborated with many artists, including the rapper Missy Elliot. Their song “Tempo” (2019) reached number 21 on the Billboard “U.S. Digital Song Sales” chart. She won Grammy Awards in 2020 for best pop solo performance for “Truth Hurts”; best traditional rhythm and blues (R&B) performance for her song “Jerome” (2019); and best urban contemporary album for Cuz I Love You (Deluxe) (2019).

Lizzo briefly co-hosted the television music program “Wonderland” in 2016. In 2019, she provided her voice for the animated musical film Ugly Dolls. She also acted in the movie Hustlers (2019). Lizzo has also become known for promoting body positivity and self-acceptance.

In the Middle East, Islam is the dominant religion. Islam’s followers, Muslims, worship in mosques, like the one in Iran shown here. The women in the foreground have their heads covered, as required by Islamic law in Iran. In most other countries, Muslim women can choose whether to wear a veil or head cover.
Credit: © Patrick Ben Luke Syder, Lonely Planet Images

In September 2022, public protests broke out in dozens of Iranian cities following the death in police custody of a 22-year-old Iranian woman named Mahsa Amini. On September 13, Amini had been arrested in Tehran by officers of Iran’s morality police, who enforce the nation’s strict dress code. The police arrested Amini for incorrectly wearing her hijab, the traditional headscarf worn by Muslim women. Though many Muslim women choose to wear the hijab, wearing one is required by law in Iran. Amini died in police custody on September 16. In the protests that followed, some women burned their headscarves. Women in Iran and around the world cut their hair in protest.

According to human rights groups, thousands of protesters were arrested, more than 185 people were killed, and hundreds more were injured. The authorities stated they would investigate the civilian deaths and claimed violence was caused by dissident groups. The government restricted access to the internet and social media as part of an attempt to end the protests. In response to the government’s actions, some global powers have imposed sanctions on Iran.

The protests persisted into October. Deaths of other protestors added fuel and heartache to those protesting the regime. Those included Iranian teenage girls who shared their lives and talents on social media. Nika Shakarami, a 16-year-old Iranian student, died during the protests. Iranian authorities claim Shakarami died by falling from a building. Her mother, Nasreen, said that the body was buried without the family’s consent, and records showed severe damage to her skull. Sarina Esmaeilzadeh was 16 years old and joined the protests on September 22. It was reported that she was beaten by Iranian forces and died of her wounds, although that has been denied by authorities, which claim she died by suicide.

This challenge to authorities is one of the greatest in Iran since the 1979 revolution. In 1979, revolutionaries under Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a Muslim religious leader, overthrew Mohammad Reza. The revolutionaries took control of Iran. They changed Iran’s government from a constitutional monarchy to an Islamic republic. Their policies led to strict Islamic control over all areas of people’s lives. Their rule resulted in severe economic problems for the nation. Relations between Iran and Western countries became strained.