Featured
Democracy’s Assassins Always Have Accomplices. By Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt / NYT
Mr. Levitsky and Mr. Ziblatt are professors of government at Harvard and the authors of “The Tyranny of the Minority.”
During the first Republican debate of the 2024 presidential primary campaign last month, Donald Trump’s rivals were asked to raise their hands if they would support his candidacy, even if he was “convicted in a court of law.” Vivek Ramaswamy’s hand shot up first, and all the other leading candidates followed suit — some eagerly, some more hesitantly and one after casting furtive glances to his right and his left.
Democracy’s assassins always have accomplices among mainstream politicians in the halls of power. The greatest threat to our democracy comes not from demagogues like Mr. Trump or even from extremist followers like those who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 but rather from the ordinary politicians, many of them inside the Capitol that day, who protect and enable him. Read more
Related: Trump’s plans to become a dictator — denial will not save you. By Chauncey Devega / Salon
Related: Red States Are Rolling Back the Rights Revolution. By Ronald Brownstein / The Atlantic
Political / Social
Dignified Silence Doesn’t Work Against Trump. By Charles M. Blow / NYT
Donald Trump is increasing his already overwhelming lead for the Republican nomination, and is tied with President Biden in a hypothetical general election face-off, according to recent polling.
This is astonishing given Trump’s quagmire of legal trouble, but it is the logical result of a candidate running without forceful, widespread opposition and condemnation. His opponents, for varying reasons, have taken the strategic position of ignoring his predicament, fingers and toes crossed that he will succumb to self-injury. Read more
Jacksonville begins funerals for Black victims of racist attack at Dollar General. By The AP and NBC News
Rev. Al Sharpton eulogizes shooting victim Angela Carr at The Bethel Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Fla., on Friday
Mourners at the funeral service for Angela Michelle Carr applauded the Rev. Al Sharpton as he criticized laws that allowed the gunman to buy an assault-style rifle years after he was involuntarily committed for a mental health examination. He also denounced white supremacists who demonstrated outside Disney World a week after the Aug. 26 killings in Jacksonville. Read more
Related: The Half-Truth of America’s Past Greatness. By Esau McCaulley / NYT
Police fatally shot a pregnant Black woman in Ohio. The calls for accountability are growing. By Li Zhou / Vox
Ta’Kiya Young’s fatal shooting — and bodycam footage — renews scrutiny of police violence.
Ta’Kiya Young, an aspiring social worker and 21-year-old pregnant Black woman, was killed by Ohio police outside a Kroger grocery store in Blendon Township, Ohio, on August 24. Young’s killing has once again spotlighted the pervasiveness of police violence and the racial disparities in who law enforcement harms, reviving questions about the need for more accountability. Read more
Affirmative action wars hit the workplace: Conservatives target ‘woke’ DEI programs. By Jessica Guynn / USA Today
Though it does not apply to employers, conservative activists seized on the high court ruling, saying it raises fundamental issues about how corporate America addresses workplace inequality.
“The decision was clear that all Americans have the same civil rights, and those rights forbid discriminating for or against anyone on the basis of race, sex or orientation,” said Scott Shepard, director of the National Center for Public Policy Research’s Free Enterprise Project which challenges DEI and other “woke” initiatives in corporate America. Since then, the nation has seen an uptick in legal challenges from conservative activists. Read more
Related: D.E.I. Statements Stir Debate on College Campuses. By Michael Posell / NYT
How the ‘model minority’ myth led one Indian American family to unravel. By Harmeet Kaur / CNN
Journalist Prachi Gupta’s new book “They Called Us Exceptional” examines how the weight of the “model minority” stereotype led her family to unravel.
Her father was a doctor, her mother was a caring homemaker and she and her brother Yush were high achievers. They had settled into a grand, five-bedroom home in the Philadelphia suburbs, and never wanted for material comforts. This success, Gupta was raised to believe, was a testament to their hard work and Indian cultural values. Beneath the surface, a different narrative was unfolding, she writes in her new memoir “They Called Us Exceptional.” Her father’s temper and strict rules created a turbulent environment at home, and Gupta struggled to reconcile her family’s dysfunction with the picture-perfect image they presented to the world. Read more
California school district offers unique Korean American studies class. By Brahmjot Kaur / NBC News
Ahn Chang Ho, Kap Suk Cho and other workers at a Riverside orange orchard in the early 1900s.Courtesy of Korean Heritage Library, University of Southern California
Anaheim Union High School District in Orange County, California, is offering for the first time this fall an ethnic studies course focusing on the history and experiences of Korean Americans. “The Korean American story is a great American story. But if I were to, as a young person, ask myself, ‘Could I name one Korean American who made a difference for the United States?’ I would have struggled to name even one,” said Jeff Kim, a world history teacher in the district who spent the last three years advocating for the new elective. Read more
The Sierra Club hired its first Black leader. Turmoil over racial equity followed. By Maxine Joselow / Wash Post
Sierra Club Executive Director Ben Jealous speaks during a protest of big banks financing fossil fuels on March 23 in Washington. (Matt McClain/The Washington Post)
When Ben Jealous became the first person of color to lead the Sierra Club, the prominent civil rights leader promised to create more inclusive working conditions at the nation’s oldest environmental group. “We have to deal with all of the equity issues inside the Sierra Club,” he said in January. “Those include, absolutely, issues of gender, as well as racial equity and also pay equity.” But today, the 131-year-old group is in turmoil over its approach to diversity, equity and environmental justice, according to interviews with 12 current and former staffers, most of whom spoke to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity for fear of facing retaliation or otherwise harming their job prospects. Read more
Ethics / Morality / Religion
Dr. Corey D. B. Walker Appointed Dean of the School of Divinity at Wake Forest University. By Arrman Kyaw / Diverse Issues in Higher Ed
Walker, a scholar of religion, Wake Forest Professor of the Humanities, and ordained American Baptist clergyperson, has been the school’s interim dean since January. His scholarly focus is on African American religion, philosophy, history, and culture.
During his time at Wake Forest, Walker also founded its African American studies program. He will continue to serve as the program director for the rest of the academic year. He also leads Wake Forest’s Environmental and Epistemic Justice Initiative. Read more
The search for a church that isn’t a church. By Rachel Martin / NPR
According to a study by PRRI from 2022, almost 30 percent of Americans consider themselves to be “unaffiliated” from any religious institution. Compare that 1991 when only 6 percent of respondents said they were religiously unaffiliated.
So there’s clearly something going on. America is getting less churchy. But is it getting any less spiritual? I don’t think so. I think it just means our faith communities and institutions aren’t giving people what they need anymore, which is probably why Perry Bacon’s recent column in the Washington Post caught my eye. But, like me, Perry has grown away from the church he grew up in. His family’s Black charismatic church doesn’t reflect the totality of his values anymore. He started feeling distant from his faith when he left his home in Louisville, Kentucky to start college at Yale. This interview has been edited for length and clarity. Read more
We need a truce in our wars over religion. Here’s a glimmer of hope. By E.J. Dionne Jr. / Wash Post
You could fill many cookbooks with the recipes being offered to ease division in American public life. Many are rooted in wishful thinking. But when it comes to religion — one of the most divisive topics in U.S. politics — there are glimmers of hope for a better conversation.
On the negative side: The public voices of White Christianity especially have moved well to the right, in too many cases toward an embrace of a deeply intolerant ethno-nationalism. This has only accelerated the flight from religion, especially in more progressive, younger generations. Here’s what’s heartening about the new turn in the conversation: Many secular people and progressives are lifting up religion’s socially constructive role. My Post colleague Perry Bacon Jr., who left the church, wrote powerfully last month about a “church-size hole in American life,” noting that even attractive secular alternatives did not provide “singing, sermons and solidarity all at once.” Read more
DeSantis banned some Black history classes. These churches fought back. By Deborah Barfield Berry / USA Today
Some Black churches in Florida are stepping up to teach Black History saying the state has “watered-down” versions taught to students. Florida has been a battleground for teachings about race.
The 30 or so people who logged on to hear about the trans-Atlantic slave trade Wednesday night was just what Pastor Kenneth Johnson had hoped for – a sign that his congregation in Fort Pierce, Florida, was interested in learning more about Black history. The hour-long video class was the first of a series Friendship Missionary Baptist Church plans to host this fall. Read more
Historical / Cultural
Georgia descendants of enslaved people face losing decades-old land protections. By The AP and NBC News
The Tulsa race massacre’s ‘public nuisance’ is an ongoing injustice. By Jasmine M. Green / Wash Post
Viola Fletcher, a survivor of the Tulsa race massacre survivor, shown with her grandson Ike Howard, is one of three plaintiffs in a lawsuit calling for the city to address the massacre’s ongoing “public nuisance.” (Mary Altaffer/AP)
One hundred and two years ago, government officials in Tulsa failed to protect Black residents when a White mob set their neighborhood on fire. Today, the city and the state continue to deny their responsibility to address the devastation that began with the Tulsa race massacre. Now that Oklahoma’s Supreme Court has agreed to reconsider a lawsuit filed by three centenarian survivors, there’s hope the situation might finally change. Read more
A Montana Man Has The Oldest DNA Native To America, And It Changes What We Know About Our Ancestors. By ken Macdonald / Maternity Verse
Darrell “Dusty” Crawford, whose Native American Blackfoot name is Lone Bull, looks over his results with fascination. He’s taken a DNA test with an outfit called Cellular Research Institute (CRI) and learned a lot about his heritage. What he doesn’t know yet, though, is that the conclusions will also have implications for all Native Americans.
The immediately astonishing thing about Crawford’s test is how far back the scientists at the CRI have traced his genetic history. In fact, the company has said that it has never managed to delve this far back in time before. And this achievement could force a rethink on the history of humans in the Americas. Read more
Alabama Cherishes Its History of Defying the Federal Courts. By David Firestone / NYT
Representatives of the Department of Justice confronting George Wallace as he took a stand against integration at the University of Alabama.Credit…Bettmann Archive/Getty Images
Most other states would be ashamed of the tongue lashing issued against the government of Alabama on Tuesday by a trio of federal judges, all of whom were clearly furious that the state ignored their order to create a second majority-Black congressional district. But Alabama’s leaders knew exactly what they were doing. They all but asked for the decision, as a way to show that no judge, court or other arm of the federal government could push them around. With their actions, they are evoking an image of defiance from 1954, when state leaders openly said they would ignore the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision and continue segregating Black and white children in Alabama’s public schools. Read more
Related: Alabama goes too far (again) — even for Trump-nominated judges. By Ruth Marcus / Wash Post
Related: States Can Be Laboratories of Autocracy, Too. By Jamelle Bouie / NYT
Black Music Sunday: Let’s vibe with Roy Ayers on his 83rd birthday. By Denise Oliver Velez / Daily Kos
Musicians who weave their musical magic for us for decades truly are a blessing. One of them, groundbreaking vibraphonist, composer, and producer Roy Ayers, celebrates his 83rd birthday today.
With a career spanning over six decades, Ayers cannot be defined by or limited to any one particular genre of music. Over the years, he has written and played a mix of post-bop jazz, acid jazz, funk, soul, R&B, disco, and hip-hop. Read more and listen here
When Dinah Washington married her seventh husband, she finally found happiness. Sadly, her bliss ended in utter tragedy. By Factinate
Melodious Facts About Dinah Washington, The Queen Of The Blues
There are all kinds of stars: Small ones that twinkle bright and long, and bigger ones that explode in a supernova of unimaginable intensity. Dinah Washington belonged to the latter category. She lived big, shone bright, and left us all too soon. Grab a pair of shades as we explore the turbulent, explosive life of this mega-watt star. Read more
The Supremes and other 1960s girl groups have some stories to tell. By Sibbie O’Sullivan / Wash Post
The new book ‘But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?’ is a treasure trove for music fans, offering a window into life beyond the spotlight. The Shirelles: Shirley Owens, Beverly Lee, Addie Micki Harris and Doris Coley. (Everett/Shutterstock)
Laura Flam and Emily Sieu Liebowitz’s “But Will You Love Me Tomorrow?” an oral history of 1960s girl groups, presents a musical world that today’s teenagers might find incomprehensible — a time without music streaming, when sharing a song with friends meant gathering around a record player or going to a concert together. But boomers will smilingly recognize and probably long for it. It was a world in which local talent shows, hops and gigs offered opportunities for young performers to be discovered and recorded. Read more
Sports
Coco Gauff Made $3 Million With Her U.S. Open Win. The Real Riches Will Soon Follow. By Brett Knight / Forbes
Coco Gauff found herself compared to Serena Williams before she was even a teenager, and just as companies once did with the GOAT, a long list of brands has followed her development as a tennis and marketing star with great interest. Read more
Related: Coco Gauff Says She’s ‘Ready’ for the Headiest Levels of Fame. By David Waldstein / NYT
Deion Sanders, Shedeur Sanders lead Colorado to ‘personal’ Nebraska win. By Brent Schrotenboer / USA Today
Deion Sanders preached all week about how Saturday’s game against Nebraska was deeply “personal.”There were plenty of reasons for this.
∎ It was his first home game as head football coach at Colorado.
∎ It was a sold-out game against the Cornhuskers, Colorado’s hated old rivals.
∎ For his quarterback and son Shedeur, it also was a direct confrontation with Matt Rhule, the Nebraska coach who managed to offend him at times this year, including during pregame warmups when he said he saw him standing on the Buffaloes’ logo at midfield. Read more
Related: Deion Sanders: Winning for All the Great Black Coaches of the Past. By Samuel G. Freeman / TNR
Baltimore Ravens’ all-Black quarterback room makes history. By Mike Freeman / USA Today
The picture could represent history because it shows something the NFL has likely never witnessed before.
In the picture, seen above, are five men, all members of the Baltimore Ravens. They are assistant quarterbacks coach Kerry Dixon, quarterback Tyler Huntley, quarterback Lamar Jackson (maybe you’ve heard of him), quarterback Josh Johnson, and quarterbacks coach Tee Martin. Why is this photo, and moment, so important? It’s because the Ravens say this group is the first all-Black quarterback room in league history. Read more
Related: Gil Brandt’s respect for Black prospects helped change the NFL. By kevin Blackstone / Wash Post
Related: Who are the NFL owners? By Lee Powell / Wash Post
The Fast and the Fashionable: Unraveling Flo-Jo. By Melissa Prather / Cultress
Flo-Jo wasn’t just fast, she was a track superstar with style to boot. From tough beginnings, she zoomed to the title of the world’s quickest woman. But hey, with fame come rumors, right? Some say she had a little “help” with steroids. So, was she sprinting on pure talent or something more? Let’s dive into her roller-coaster story. Read more
Diddy Delivers $1M to Jackson State Football. By Jon Edelman / Diverse Issues in Higher Ed
Music mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs has donated $1 million to Jackson State University’s (JSU) football team, continuing his pattern of support for HBCUs. Combs presented the check to JSU between the first and second quarters of the school’s victory over South Carolina State on Saturday.
“If it wasn’t for HBCUs, I wouldn’t be here,” Combs, a former student at Howard University, said to ESPN at the game. Combs added that HBCUs are “under-resourced” and that he was “here to do something about it.” Read more
Steph Curry and Ayesha Curry Make Announcement. By Joey Linn / FanNation
In an official announcement, Golden State Warriors star Steph Curry and his wife Ayesha Curry revealed the launch of a new movement that will help Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) students receive nutritious meals and additional resources.
Eat. Learn. Play. will launch a new movement to raise and invest $50 million in additional support and resources to Oakland students by the 2026 school year. The Currys will continue to cover 100% of Eat. Learn. Play.’s administrative and fundraising costs, ensuring all monies raised are put directly back into the community through the foundation’s programming.” Read more
Magic Johnson, part owner of the Commanders, offers his wisdom to players. By Nicki Jhabvala / Wash Post
For about 30 minutes Wednesday, NBA legend and new Commanders limited partner Earvin “Magic” Johnson stood at the front of the team’s meeting room in Ashburn for some season-opening motivation.
In a closed-door meeting with players and coaches, he shared some lessons and stories he has collected over the years as an NBA champion, businessman and sports team owner. He talked about his former teammates and told of how they would hold one another accountable. Then he opened it up for questions. “… My message was preparation, preparation, preparation and then discipline, discipline, discipline and then execution, execution, execution. And last but not least, they have to police themselves. Read more
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