# Persisters Humans who push, persevere, pivot and persist...despite all the sh\*t. Page: Feed: --- ## [One of his first jobs was creating art out of human hair](https://petuladvorak.substack.com/p/one-of-his-first-jobs-was-creating) _2026-08-17 · Petula Dvorak_ Robert Fulton tried silversmithing, hair art and portrait painting before inventing the submarine. And the first commercial steamboat. ## [She kept playing until her dream came true](https://petuladvorak.substack.com/p/she-kept-playing-until-her-dream) _2026-08-12 · Petula Dvorak_ Women played pro baseball in the 1800s, then during World War II. This month, 60 persisters who refused to switch to softball did it again. Meet one of them. ## [The Black town that was bulldozed for an airport](https://petuladvorak.substack.com/p/the-black-town-that-was-bulldozed) _2026-08-06 · Petula Dvorak_ Trump has big ideas for Dulles. It's not the first time a president bullied his vision onto that land. ## [Freedom of the Press started with a guy writing smack about this vainglorious New Yorker](https://petuladvorak.substack.com/p/freedom-of-the-press-started-with) _2026-08-05 · Petula Dvorak_ America once had a parade float, a statue and a U.S. cargo ship honoring the journalist. What, you've never heard of Pete Zenger? ## [She was shot in the head 15 years ago](https://petuladvorak.substack.com/p/she-was-shot-in-the-head-15-years) _2026-08-01 · Petula Dvorak_ And still, Gabby Giffords persists. Can she be our next First Lady, please? ## [Hidden Persisters helped get us to Mars, too](https://petuladvorak.substack.com/p/hidden-persisters-helped-get-us-to) _2026-07-22 · Petula Dvorak_ They built the rockets, ran the satellites, searched for life. Why haven't we heard of them? ## [Trump killed USAID. But some of them keep working.](https://petuladvorak.substack.com/p/trump-killed-usaid-but-some-of-them) _2026-07-16 · Petula Dvorak_ A group of Persisters is quietly continuing to impact foreign aid and - behind closed doors - congress is hungry for their help. ## [They heard the Declaration and decided to kill Gold George](https://petuladvorak.substack.com/p/they-heard-the-declaration-and-decided) _2026-07-09 · Petula Dvorak_ Today is the 250th anniversary of America's first statue takedown. They turned it into ammo to kill British troops. ## [The Persisters who unmasked bigots](https://petuladvorak.substack.com/p/the-persisters-who-unmasked-bigots) _2026-07-06 · Petula Dvorak_ Since 1870, leaders fed up with racist nonsense have persisted in banning the masks that let hate hide ## [Find what they just said (Sponsored)](https://crawlproof.com/a/deQONVyfwDMp) _2026-07-06 · **Sponsored**_ Surface recent public signals so you can send policy-aware, relevant outreach ## [What happened the past 250 years? America!](https://petuladvorak.substack.com/p/what-happened-the-past-250-years) _2026-07-04 · Petula Dvorak_ I helped write a book that tells our nation's story. It's for kids, but I think it's the inspiration we all need right now.