Children’s brook author Angela Dominguez was born in Mexico City but grew up in the United States. Her childhood was in many ways shaped by that blending of cultures.  In Stella Diaz Has Something to Say, she created a story that shares the immigrant experience in a way that children can relate to.

• Shop the Stella Diaz series
• Follow Angela Dominguez on Twitter
• Learn more about the Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries
• See Mrs. Bush's 2020 reading list for kids

The history of our nation is often reflected in the history baseball.  In the 1920s, racism and segregation meant that elite black and Latin athletes couldn’t play Major League Baseball — despite their unquestionable skill and talent.  Bob Kendrick, President of the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, explains that even though that ugly chapter of American history forced the formation of the league, the story is ultimately one of triumph. And the lessons we can learn from those baseball players  are very much applicable today.

Related

• Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
• Bob Kendrick on Twitter
• From the Bush Institute: Why Baseball Matters -- Still 

Doctors Sunny Jha, Loren Robinson, and Jay Bhatt are on the front lines in their communities in the fight against COVID-19 -- but thanks to vaccines that are now available, see a light at the end of the tunnel. They've witnessed first hand the pain caused by COVID-19, the progress we’ve made in a short amount of time, and the fear in patients as vaccine distribution ramps up.  But, the science is clear: the vaccines are safe, and #ThisIsOurShot to bring the pandemic under control.

Related

• Learn more about #ThisIsOurShot
• Learn more about the Presidential Leadership Scholars program

Where you’re born often plays a significant role in the path your life takes.  This is true on an international level as well as a local level. In Dallas, I30 marks a barrier between North Dallas and communities like Jubilee Park in South Dallas. Nonprofits like the Jubilee Park and Community Center are using innovative, cohesive methods to try to gain equal opportunity for South Dallas residents. 

Related:

• Jubilee Park and Community Center
• The State of the American Dream issue of The Catalyst
• Bush Institute Blueprint for Opportunity
• Bush Institute Education and Workforce Pipeline

As a 22-year old, Aya Chebbi’s voice was at the heart of the democratic revolution in Tunisia in Northern Africa.  Now, 10 years later, she is still committed to fighting for human rights — including gender equity here on International Women’s Day.

Related:

• Aya Chebbi on Twitter
• Aya Chebbi on Instagram
• About the Bush Institute's Women's Initiative

The Constitution opens, “we the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect union”. It doesn’t say that we will always be perfect, but rather we’ll will strive to establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the blessing of liberty for generations to come.

Nicole Bibbins Sedaca, Bush Institute Kelly and David Pfeil Fellow, discusses the principles of our democracy and how we can all work to ensure its health.

• Read the Choose Freedom report from the Bush Institute

Wendy Kopp had an idea.  She wanted to borrow a tactic from other industries: if she could convince students fresh out of college to commit to teaching for two years in communities that desperately needed teachers, she could really make an impact in education and broaden the perspectives of the young adults before they move into their planned careers.  Thus, Teach for America was born.  Today, Wendy has broadened her goals, and co-founded Teach for All to impact education worldwide.

Wendy shares how her parents’ commitment to her education impacted her, and how local communities — not necessary federal governments — are at the core of driving change.

Related Content

• Teach for All
• Teach for America
• 2020 Bush Center Forum on Leadership

When you’re browsing for something to read or watch online , algorithms usually decide what content will be put in front of you. Whether that’s what search result shows first, or what news stories are in your social media feed, somewhere a computer is following a complex but predefined set of rules to decide what content you’ll see first. Renée DiResta, Research Manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory, explains how these algorithms try to deliver content that you’ll  find interesting and relevant — and how that leads to your online world looking very different from your neighbor’s online world.

We sat down before the recent elections to talk about how information spreads online — whether true, false, or somewhere in between — and how we can all be better consumers of information.

Related Content

• Renée DiResta on Twitter: @NoUpside
• Democracy Talks from the Bush Institute

Roda Ahmed is the author of Mae Among the Stars, the critically acclaimed children’s storybook which is a selection on Mrs. Bush’s 2020 reading list for kids.

Born in Somalia and raised in Norway, Roda speaks five languages — and has now founded her own publishing company. We talked to her on Zoom from her home in Oslo this summer about about why she wrote Mae Among the Stars, and how important representation is in children’s literature. We also discuss challenges she herself has had to overcome, and how she felt when she finally met Mae Jemison.

Related Content

• Mae Among the Stars: Barnes and Noble / Amazon
• Mrs. Laura Bush Reading List for Kids, 2020
• The Laura Bush Foundation for America's Libraries -- grant applications now open

Thanksgiving always looks different for men and women deployed through our armed services. And this year, even more so. For 80 years, the USO has worked to connect service members to family and home. CEO J.D. Crouch discusses the ongoing work of serving our nation's warriors -- and how the organization with a global footprint is adapting to a global pandemic.

Dr. Crouch also discusses his optimistic style of leadership, as well as what he learned during his time as Deputy National Security Advisor in the George W. Bush administration. And shares his memories of the late Alex Trebek — a longtime USO supporter.

Related:

• The USO
• The Bush Institute's resources for veterans and the nonprofits who serve them