In celebration of the 75th anniversary of the Hanford Site, Washington State University Tri-Cities’ Hanford History Project will host and partner to offer several activities throughout the month of September that provide a glimpse into the unique history of Hanford and impact that it has had on the region, state and world.

“Hanford is a unique place with unique history,” said Robert Franklin, WSU history instructor and alumnus and assistant director of the WSU Tri-Cities Hanford History Project. “It is also a really complicated place, with a complicated history, but that is what makes it interesting. It had a huge impact on the development of the city of Richland, and it had an impact on the rest of the world.”

Hanford is the location of the world’s first large-scale nuclear reactor, the B Reactor, which also made the plutonium for the “Fat Man” nuclear bomb that was detonated over the Japanese city of Nagasaki in 1945 during World War II. It led to the creation of a variety of scientific and engineering discoveries and technology. It is now the site of one of the world’s largest nuclear cleanup efforts.

“This is a great opportunity to learn more about Hanford and its impact, especially on the regional Tri-Cities community,” Franklin said. “We want to make people more aware of just how accessible historical resources for Hanford are in our local community, and we want to bring that history to our community.”

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WSU Insider

Evangelicals have played an important role in modern day American politics—from supporting President Trump to helping elect Jimmy Carter back in 1976. How and when did this religious group become so intertwined with today’s political issues? In this episode, what it means to be an evangelical today and how it has changed over time.

Research conducted by Matthew Avery Sutton, professor of history at Washington State University, is featured in this “Throughline” audio article.

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NPR.org

Washington State University history professor Clif Stratton has been named the new director of the University Common Requirements Program, known as UCORE, announced Mary F. Wack, vice provost for undergraduate education.

Stratton will continue to teach in history’s Roots of Contemporary Issues program, for which he served as assistant director for five years. Roots is a one-course, first-year-experience cornerstone of the UCORE curriculum. Stratton also teaches history and Honors College courses on race and modern U.S. history.

“It’s a great honor to lead UCORE,” Stratton said. “It is central to the mission of the university. It touches virtually every student on every campus, regardless of their major, from their first-year through capstone courses.

“UCORE meets students’ academic needs by advancing knowledge, understanding, and skill development. It helps them make connections across disciplines. In many ways, UCORE provides a foundation for today’s students to become lifelong learners equipped to analyze, communicate, and solve tomorrow’s problems.”

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A new book by a Washington State University Tri‑Cities associate professor of history examines the complex relationship between religion, race, and government‑led antipoverty initiatives, and how this complex dynamic resonates in today’s political situation.

In his book, titled “Fighting to Preserve a Nation’s Soul: America’s Ecumenical War on Poverty,” Robert Bauman explores organized religion’s role in the struggle against poverty and its impact on social movements, the on‑going “War on Poverty” (initiated by President Lynden Johnson in 1964), and the power balance between church and state.

“Previously, religious organizational involvement in the antipoverty efforts hadn’t been closely examined,” Bauman said. “I hope readers gain an appreciation for the historical roles of religious organizations and individuals, and how their influence continues to this day.”

In particular, Bauman’s book showcases how activist priests and other religious leaders were able to connect religion with the antipoverty efforts of the civil rights movement. For example, the Black Manifesto, issued by civil rights and black power activist James Forman in 1969, challenged American churches and synagogues to donate resources to the Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization as reparations for those institutions’ participation in slavery and racial segregation.

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