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Black in the White House: Meet Ja'Ron Smith

But as the number of black staffers in the White House has dwindled, the pressure on those that remain in the administration has increased. And the scrutiny surrounding Smith as a result of this latest episode with Manigault Newman only heightens the risks for other black Republicans considering joining the administration, Short said. "I think that over time it's now become a bigger problem because people feel like if I join, I'll be under a microscope," Short said.

Marc Short

Sarah Sanders says she 'can't guarantee' there's no tape of Trump using the N-word

Chris Lu, a former Obama White House cabinet secretary, told NBC News that nondisclosure agreements are not standard in presidential administrations and that no one in the Obama White House signed such an agreement. Lu says there are restrictions against releasing highly classified, sensitive information — but that falls under a security clearance, not an NDA.

Chris Lu

Inauguration events are coming together: Here's what to expect

“We wanted to celebrate the great things going on at the University in those three areas,” said William Antholis, co-chair of the Inauguration Steering Committee and director of the Miller Center. “It is especially important to Jim that the events include people from across the University – students, faculty, staff, the Health System – and reach out to the local community. He wants this to be a celebration of a place and a purpose, not of him as a person.”

William Antholis

Documenting ‘Slavery by Another Name’ in Texas

Those states imposed what the Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Douglas Blackmon rightly describes as “Slavery by Another Name” — sweeping Negroes into custody for petty offenses like vagrancy, then turning them over to plantation owners and others who sometimes notified the local sheriff in advance of how much labor they needed. This practice, which persisted in various forms up to World War II, stripped African-Americans of the ability to accumulate wealth while holding them captive in dangerous, disease-ridden environs that killed many of them outright. The Sugar Land site offers present-day Americans a look at this shameful period from an unusual vantage point.

Douglas Blackmon

Got a story to tell (or sell)? Better back it up with a tape.

Beginning with Franklin Delano Roosevelt, a string of presidents used taping equipment with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Their motives ranged from defending themselves against inaccurate news leaks (F.D.R), to help in preparing memoirs and developing political leverage. Along the way, these tapes become an invaluable historical resource, says Dr. Marc Selverstone, an associate professor in presidential studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, and chair of the Center’s Presidential Recordings Program. “They’re an incredible and powerful window into the way power works,” says Dr. Selverstone.

Marc Selverstone