Featured – 72 hours in America: Three hate-filled crimes. Three hate-filled suspects. 

Wednesday, a white man with a history of violence shot and killed two African-Americans, seemingly at random, at a Kentucky Kroger store following a failed attempt to barge into a black church. After mail bombs were being sent to people who’d been criticized by the President, a suspect was arrested Friday — a man who had railed against Democrats and minorities with hate-filled messages online. And Saturday morning, a man shouting anti-Semitic slurs opened fire at a Pittsburgh synagogue, killing 11 people attending Jewish services. Ray Sanchez and Melllissa Gray / CNN Read more  

Critics say Trump has fostered the toxic environment for the political violence he denounces. The president and the GOP, in a cynical pursuit of political power, have gone beyond partisan political combat into outright demagoguery against racial minorities, foreigners and prominent Jewish political figures. David Nakamura / Wash Post Read more

The Synagogue Killings Mark a Surge of Anti-Semitism. In 2016, more than half of religious hate crimes in America targeted Jews, and in 2017, authorities have reported a surge of anti-Semitic incidents. Andrew Kragie / The Atlantic Read more

Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting Is a Moment of Reckoning for American Jews. In the wake of the worst attack on Jews in American history, all of us, but especially American Jews like me, face a similar decision. We either support Donald Trump and the movement of hate he has unleashed, or we oppose it. There is no neutral ground, no justification that the benefits outweigh the costs. Jay Michaelson / The Daily Beast Read more

The Unreality of Racial Justice Cinema. From “Black Panther” to “The Hate U Give,” new movies about the fight for black lives deliver powerful fantasies. But can they be truthful? Reggie Ugwu / NYT Read more

How do colleges use affirmative action? Even some activists don’t understand. When it comes to the ongoing debate over affirmative action in U.S. college admissions, both opponents and supporters among Asian-Americans have plenty to say. The problem is what people say about race-conscious affirmative action in higher education in the U.S. often doesn’t match how it is actually practiced. OiYan Poon / The Conversation Read more   

Elizabeth Warren’s New Housing Proposal Is Actually a Brilliant Plan to Close the Racial Wealth Gap. Last month, Sen. Elizabeth Warren released a $450 billion housing plan called the American Housing and Economic Mobility Act. The proposal is a comprehensive and bold step toward providing affordable housing for the most vulnerable Americans. Mehrsa Baradaran and Darrick Hamilton / Slate Read more

What white players owe their black teammates: Boston Celtics legend’s tears offer an answer. Bob Cousy, left, won six championships with Bill Russell, right, but there’s something off the court Cousy regrets. John Blake / CNN Read more

A Black Senate Candidate Stumps in Mississippi, but His Party Holds Him Back. Mike Espy, right, a former Democratic congressman and Clinton Administration official, campaigning in Greenville, Miss. Nicholas Fandos / NYT Read more

The Civil War massacre that left nearly 200 black soldiers ‘murdered.’  Maj. Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest, shown in the painting, was a ruthless slave trader, the first grand wizard in the Ku Klux Klan and the man who led the Confederate forces in a bloody Civil War battle in 1864 that became known as the Fort Pillow Massacre.The controversy over the painting led to more questions: What is Fort Pillow? And what happened there?  DeNeen L. Brown / Wash Post Read more

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