“Niceness is not morality; it is social control,” says Amira Barger, author of The Price of Nice

We asked Amira Barger a few questions about her book, which will be released tomorrow, October 28. Her answers are sharp, thoughtful, and full of insight. This isn’t just a Q&A that makes you want to read the book (though you definitely will); it actually leaves you with something real to think about.

Barger has worked with us several times before, and it’s an honor to talk with her just before this book reaches, hopefully, many people for whom being “nice” has been both an expectation and a burden.

AHUS EditorialOctober 30, 2025Comment

Fascism in 2025 America: A Warning and Call to Action

Fiction has never struggled to name tyranny. We root for Katniss against the Capitol, for the Rebellion against the Galactic Empire, for Dumbledore’s Army against Voldemort’s regime. Ultranationalism and mythic populism are no longer just plot devices. In 2025 America, our drift toward authoritarianism is a political reality, and the courage we cheer in our favorite stories feels conspicuously absent on our own streets.

Amira BargerOctober 9, 2025Comment

From GITMO to Gaza–Technology, Genocide, and U.S. Neocolonialism

In May and June of 1912, the newly formed Cuban government, under the direct support and advisement of the United States, committed genocide with indiscriminate brutality and violence targeting Black Cubans in the Eastern region of the island (Oriente). The murder and disappearance of 5,000 Black Cubans happened under the guise of defending Cuba against the rebelling Black “racists” of Cuba’s first Black political party, El Partido Independiente de Color (PIC). In the period of modern colonialism and neocolonialism, the 1912 massacre proved itself as a testing ground for technological advancements and new and advanced weaponry later used during WWI, as well as in the US occupation of Haiti and the Dominican Republic in 1915 and 1916, respectively. Nevertheless, this genocide also allows us to understand the context of Cuba and the greater Caribbean under colonial and neocolonial control before 1959.

Lisa V. BettyOctober 2, 2025Comment

When Faith Hurts: Religious Trauma, Racism, and the Fight for True Freedom

Religion is meant to heal, but for many Americans, it has also left scars.

Religious belief has long shaped the culture and politics of the United States. It can be a source of meaning and community, but it can also cause deep harm. Religious trauma refers to the psychological, emotional, and spiritual wounds caused by harmful teachings, communities, or doctrines (Winell, 2011). These wounds are not rare. In the United States, where Christianity has long dominated public life, religious trauma is increasingly recognized not only as an individual struggle but as a collective wound with profound racial, social, and political consequences.

Felicia ThompsonSeptember 25, 2025Comment

An Anniversary Worth Noting, Liberation and the Myth of Martyrdom

The United States’ use of Haiti as a means of income is most characterized by its occupation of the Caribbean country. From 1915 to 1934, Haiti, residing in the States’ backyard, was treated like a playground instead. With purported efforts to stave off German interests, the interaction between the two became one of conqueror and conquered. By the time the United States left Haiti, Haiti’s constitution had been changed so foreigners could own land, gold had been pillaged from Haiti’s national bank, the government was centralized in Port-Au-Prince, puppet politicians were put into place, and countless people were murdered, raped, or both.

Ruth Jean-MarieSeptember 18, 2025Comment

What Would It Take to See the Humanity in Each Other?

Lately, I’ve been wrestling with a persistent question: What would it take for us, as humans, to truly see the humanity in one another? What would it take for someone to pause and genuinely listen—without judgment or fear? Ego is a barrier that stifles our ability to see the shared humanity in one another, while fear often becomes the root of hate. What’s crippling this country daily is our tendency to center our own narrow narratives of existence, especially when only a collective consciousness can save us from ourselves. Often, it’s our ego and our refusal to look beyond our immediate needs, desires, and survival that breeds contempt for others. We act as if there isn’t enough humanity to go around, as if granting human dignity to someone else poses an existential threat to our own survival.

Mishel WilliamsSeptember 11, 2025Comment

The One, Big, Beautiful Bill: The Slow and Steady Descent into a Hellscape of the American Democratic Project

My fifth-grade teacher steered me wrong. She taught us that when we vote, we should vote for what’s best for society and not what’s best for the individual. I remember her making a face afterward, a face that revealed that she was betraying her own beliefs by teaching us an ideal versus the reality of politics–that it is seldom for the betterment of the whole and often, solely used for the benefit of the individual. For the individual without real power, it convinces them that they have a semblance of it. For the individual with systemic power, it perpetuates their ability to operate under the guise of justice.

Ruth Jean-MarieJuly 17, 2025Comment

Passport Bros: Should They Just Go Extinct?

Following my recent piece, “Gringo, Go Home”, where I explain why I reclaim the term “gringophobic” based on my experience as a Black woman from Colombia, and the deep distrust I feel, particularly towards white people from the Global North, I'm writing now to digg deeper into toxic, deadly masculinity and global disparity. Some white men cross the border into countries of the Global South countless times, committing crimes each time, without ever being prosecuted. Meanwhile, there is the injustice of undocumented people being deported from Gringolandia without having committed any crime. In short, impunity has everything to do with masculinity and white privilege.

Sher HerreraJune 26, 2025 Comments