Featured
O.J. Simpson dead: The biggest misunderstanding of his legacy. By Joel Anderson / Slate
Yes, Black people cheered the verdict. But white people were his real fans
When O.J. Simpson died this week at the age of 76, almost 30 years after being accused of killing his former wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, many reflections on his life made the same, familiar point about his legacy: His 1995 acquittal represented a “racial divide,” with many more Black than white Americans cheering the verdict.
That point, reliably trotted out in discussions of his sensational trial, while technically true, has always irked me. It leaves room to believe—and even suggests—that Black people really loved and adored Simpson. But not really. He certainly wasn’t a beloved athletic hero like Joe Louis, Jackie Robinson, or Muhammad Ali. It’s not as if the spirits of Black Americans rose and fell with his efforts to turn the Buffalo Bills into title contenders. Read more
Related: What O.J. Simpson meant to Black America. By Emmanuel Felton and Rachel Hatzipanagos / Wash Post
Related: The O.J. Verdict Reconsidered. By Jemele Hill / The Atlantic
Political / Social
Trump vs. Biden Polls: Joe Has All But Caught Up. By Ed Kilgore / New York Intelligencer
Joe Biden is continuing his snail-like progress toward a dead heat with Donald Trump in polling this week.
The RealClearPolitics polling averages for a national head-to-head contest between the two presidents now show Trump up by a mere 0.2 percent (45.5 to 45.3 percent), his smallest lead in these averages dating back to last October. In the most influential poll, from New York Times/Siena, Trump’s lead dropped from five points in late February to one point in mid-April. Read more
Related: Are We Really in the Middle of a ‘Racial Realignment’ in Politics? By Brandon Tensley / Capital B
Donald Trump’s Trial of the Century. By Eric Lach / The New Yorker
Manhattan prosecutors have argued that the Stormy Daniels case—the first criminal trial of a former President in American history—is about much more than hush money. And legal experts believe that a conviction is likely.
Would Trump have lost the 2016 Presidential election if Stormy Daniels had gone public with her story? Prosecutors in Manhattan think maybe so. This question is at the heart of next week’s criminal trial against Trump—the first against a former President in American history. Trump faces thirty-four felony counts of falsifying business records, which the Manhattan District Attorney, Alvin Bragg, claims was part of a scheme to “conceal damaging information and unlawful activity from American voters before and after the 2016 election. Read more
Trump’s so-called “Virtues”: More threats of violence against his enemies. By Chauncey Devega / Salon
Last weekend, Donald Trump issued a new barrage of threats against Americans who decline to vote for him or who otherwise resist the resurgence of the MAGA movement.
This came in the form of a new video repeatedly shared on Trump’s personal disinformation platform, Truth Social. Titled “Trump’s Virtues Part II,” it extols the virtues Trump notably lacks, basically declaring that the manifestly corrupt and multiply-indicted ex-president should be followed and obeyed unquestioningly and implying that dissent is unpatriotic because Trump is a warlord facing a state of emergency. Read more
Related: Trump’s ‘extraordinary’ number of critics who have worked for him. By Zac Anderson / USA Today
Leaders Call for Active Resistance Against Anti-DEI Measures. By Liann Herder / Diverse Issues In Higher Ed
At the National Action Network (NAN) Convention in New York City, social justice leaders gathered to discuss the impact of anti-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) legislation introduced or signed into law in states like Texas, Florida, and Alabama. Public institutions in these states are firing DEI-focused employees or redirecting their roles in an effort to comply.
“It’s clearly an all-out attack, and it’s an effective attack. We have to be more effective,” said Dedrick Asante-Muhammad, president of the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a Black think tank focused on the future of work and the quality of life in minoritized communities. Read more
Related: With State Bans on D.E.I., Some Universities Find a Workaround: Rebranding. By Stephanie Saul / NYT
Cornel West on Whether His Candidacy Will Help Elect Trump: ‘We’ll Have to See.’ By Michael Luciano / Media ITE
Independent presidential candidate Cornel West appeared on Thursday’s CNN NewsNight, where he was asked the question on many Democrats’ minds: Will he cost President Joe Biden reelection in November?
West is one of several third-party wild cards in the race, along with independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Green Party nominee Jill Stein. According to one recent survey, West is polling at 5% while Kennedy enjoys 14% support. Meanwhile, Stein receives 2%. Given Biden’s tight winning margins in a handful of states that put him over the top in 2020, those margins could tip the balance. Read more and watch here
As Abortion Bans Loom, Black Families Are Left Vulnerable. By Margo Snipe / Capital B
Florida’s ban takes effect May 1 and the fate of Arizona’s abortion access is in the throes of legal, political and legislative battles.
Abortion attacks aren’t slowing down as the clock ticks on Florida’s six-week ban and Arizona’s Supreme Court has paved the way to reinforce a Civil War-era law that criminalizes nearly all abortions. The consequences could be catastrophic for Black reproductive health, exacerbating existing disparities in access to care and alarming rates of maternal mortality, advocates and health-care providers fear. Read more
Laphonza Butler, the only Black woman in the Senate, on her new job. By Deborah Barfield Berry / USA Today
California Sen. Laphonza Butler is the lone African American woman in the Senate and only the third Black woman to ever serve in the chamber.
Six months into the job, the Democratic senator talked to USA TODAY about what she called the “incredible opportunity, responsibility and burden’’ of that role. Butler said in a recent interview in her Senate office. Butler, 44, was appointed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom last fall to fill the seat of the late Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein. Butler opted not to run for the seat in 2024. Read more
World News
After Iran’s drone attack on Israel, the world must act: this is a crisis that threatens us all. By Simon Tisdall / The Guardian
The missiles and drones that rained destruction on Israel in the early hours of Sunday morning have given Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, what he’s always craved – a mandate and justification for openly attacking Iran, a country he has long viewed as Israel’s archenemy and possible nemesis.
It is incumbent on the US, Britain and other friends and allies of Israel to inform Netanyahu in plain terms that continued military, diplomatic and political support is conditional on a legitimate and proportionate Israeli riposte. Read more
How the War in Gaza Mobilized the American Left. Katie Glueck, Katie Benner and
As the death toll in Gaza climbed, the pro-Palestinian movement grew into a powerful, if disjointed, political force in the United States. Democrats are feeling the pressure.
Labor activists are calling for a cease-fire. Black clergy leaders have appealed directly to the White House. Young Americans are using online tools to mobilize voters and send millions of missives to Congress. And an emerging coalition of advocacy groups is discussing how to press its case at the Democratic National Convention this summer. Read more
US senators introduce bill to renew Africa trade pact through 2041. By Makini Brice / Reuters
A bipartisan group of senators has introduced a bill to renew the U.S. trade pact with sub-Saharan Africa ahead of its expiration next year, an aide to one of the senators said on Thursday.
30 Years Later, Rwanda Genocide Shows Consequences of U.S. Refusal to Prevent Mass Killing. By Amy Goodman / Democracy Now
Rwanda is holding a week of commemorations to mark the 30th anniversary of the 1994 Rwanda genocide, a period of around 100 days in which up to 1 million Tutsis and moderate Hutus were killed by Hutu militias while powerful countries, including the United States, stood by and refused to stop the mass killings.
We look back at the 1994 genocide and discuss the country’s trajectory since then with two guests: Kenneth Roth, the former executive director of Human Rights Watch and now a visiting professor at Princeton, and Noël Zihabamwe, a survivor of the genocide whose parents were killed during the violence in 1994 and whose brothers were disappeared by the Kagame regime in 2019. Zihabamwe now lives in Australia and runs the African Australian Advocacy Center. Read more
Ethics / Morality / Religion
Ralph Waldo Emerson on American Civilization. By Ralph Waldo Emerson / The Atlantic April 1862
As the Civil War ground on, Ralph Waldo Emerson argued vehemently for a federal emancipation of the slaves. Above all else, he asserted, “morality is the object of government.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an essayist, poet, and founder of The Atlantic. He was a leading figure in the transcendentalist movement and a noted advocate of individualism and emancipation. Read more
The Christian Nationalist Hydra: In Era of Trump, Christian Nationalism Has Many Faces. By Sarah Posner / TPM
I am a journalist who has covered the Christian right for two decades. Over the past three years, I began to more frequently use the term “Christian nationalism” to describe the movement I cover.
To me, the phrase was highly descriptive of the movement I’ve dedicated my career to covering, and neatly encapsulates the core threat the Christian right poses to freedom and equality. From its top leaders and influencers down to the grassroots — politically mobilized white evangelicals, the foot soldiers of the Christian right — its proponents believe that God divinely ordained America to be a Christian nation; that this Christian nation has come under attack by liberals and secularists; and that patriotic Christians must engage in spiritual warfare to rid America of demonic forces, and in political action to restore its Christian heritage. Read more
‘Struggle for Racial Justice’ urges Catholic conversions of hearts and minds. By Alessandra Harris / NCR
Brittany Elmore of Houston poses for a photo with her daughter Brooklyn near a “Black Lives Matter” sign May 23, 2021, as Catholic and other faith leaders marked the first anniversary of George Floyd’s May 25, 2020, murder by a police officer in Minneapolis. (CNS/Reuters/Callaghan O’Hare)
In The Catholic Church and the Struggle for Racial Justice: A Prophetic Call, Mathew Kappadakunnel offers a unique perspective as a first-generation American of South Indian descent, who is a member of the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. Read more
Historical / Cultural
Where Kamala Harris Lives, a Little Known History of Enslavement. By Robert Draper / NYT
Three years ago this month, Vice President Kamala Harris moved into her official residence in northwest Washington, a quiet 73-acre enclave where the U.S. Navy keeps an observatory as well as the nation’s master clock.
Well before moving to the new residence, the nation’s first Black vice president had been told by aides about the 34 individuals who once lived on the property against their will. A subsequent opinion essay for CQ Roll Call was the first mention of it in the news media. Read more
The New Movie ‘Civil War’ Matters for Reasons Different Than You Think. By Stephen Marche / NYT
The current division that afflicts the United States seems different from the Civil War. If there ever is a second civil war, it won’t be for lack of imagining it. Image MovieWeb
The most prominent example arrives this week in the form of an action blockbuster titled “Civil War.” The film, written and directed by Alex Garland, presents a scenario in which the government is at war with breakaway states and the president has been, in the eyes of part of the country, delegitimized. Some critics have denounced the project, arguing that releasing the film in this particular election year is downright dangerous. They assume that even just talking about a future national conflict could make it a reality, and that the film risks becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. This is wrong. Read more
Spike Lee’s New Denzel Washington Movie Repeats A Surprising Move From A 33-Year-Old Romantic Drama. By Sarah Little / Screen Rant
Denzel Washington is starring in Spike Lee’s remake of High and Low, and one of its casting choices is similar to one in Lee’s 1991 romance film.
The original 1963 movie revolves around an esteemed executive at a shoe company working on a merger. But all his plans to obtain control of the company become complicated when he is forced to choose between using his significant wealth to gain more power at work or lending it to his chauffeur, whose son is being held captive for ransom. The kidnappers intended to kidnap the wealthy executive’s child but mistakenly took the other boy. It’s unclear how Washington’s High and Low will differ from Kurosawa’s film, but its cast shows it has promise. Read more
Black Music Sunday: Happy birthday to 3 great ladies of jazz! By Denise Oliver Velez / Daily Kos
Ella Fitzgerald performs at the Newport Jazz Festival in July 1970.
Since April is Jazz Appreciation Month, and because so many of the finest practitioners of the genre were born this month, let’s pay a special birthday tribute to three of the all-time top jazz vocalists! Ella Fitzgerald (born April 25, 1917), Billie Holiday (born April 7, 1915), and Carmen McRae (born April 8, 1920) are all from the same generation, but each had a unique sound. And since this year’s JAM is a celebration of the great Duke Ellington, we’re playing these ladies’ renditions of his work. Read more and listen here
Sports
In 1973, O.J. Simpson did what no other NFL running back had done. By Cindy Boren / Wash Post
On Dec. 16, 1973, against the Jets in snowy Shea Stadium, O.J. Simpson became the first running back to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a season, a feat he accomplished in 14 games. (AP Photo/File) (AP)
Long before he was accused of killing his ex-wife, Nicole, and Ron Goldman in 1994, he won the Heisman Trophy at the University of Southern California, and was selected first overall in the 1969 NFL draft by the Buffalo Bills at a time when running backs such as Gale Sayers and Jim Brown were heralded. Simpson’s blazing talent and movie-star smile made him a logical successor to that pair of legends, and one of the first athletes to be hyped for stardom both on and off the sports stage. Read more
‘The Long Game’ is story of a Texas Mexican American high school golf team and its victory despite racism. By Arturo Conde / NBC News
The new movie “The Long Game” recounts the true story of the winning San Felipe High School golf team and the war veteran denied entry to a golf club who formed the team.
Fans will recognize him from the reboot of “Magnum P.I.,” a crime action TV series about a former Navy SEAL who solves cases in Hawaii. Starting Friday, actor Jay Hernandez can be seen on the big screen in “The Long Game,” an underdog sports movie about a Mexican American golf team who wins the Texas high school championship in 1957. Read more
Flo-Jo Died 26 Years Ago, but Beyoncé, Serena Williams and Other Black Women Are Taking Forward Her Fashion Legacy. By Christaline Meyers / Essentially Sports
Florence Griffith Joyner, affectionately known as Flo-Jo, remains an unforgettable legend in the world of track and field.
With five Olympic medals to her name and two world records in the 100 meters (10.49 seconds) and 200 meters (21.34 seconds), set in 1988 and still standing strong after 36 years, she is the fastest woman ever recorded. However, when the world wasn’t witnessing her making and breaking speed records, all eyes were on her captivating fashion and style. Read more
Putting Her on the Same Pedestal as Caitlin Clark, Dawn Staley Gives Sha’Carri Richardson the Ultimate Title. By Christaline Meyers / Essentially Sports
Did veteran South Carolina Gamecocks head coach Dawn Staley put the ultimate title debate over 100m World Champion Sha’Carri Richardson to rest?Well, it certainly looks like it. After winning a national title on Sunday, Staley announced vacation time at Disney World, and deservedly so. However, as it turns out, she was last spotted in Paris shaking hands with the likes of Serena Williams, Sha’Carri Richardson, and A’ja Wilson. Read more
The Most Famous Golfer at the Masters Is Black. Why Aren’t There More Players Like Him? By Peter May / NYT
Tiger Woods at Augusta National Golf Course last week for the Masters Tournament.Credit…Justin Lane/EPA, via Shutterstock
When the Masters Tournament commenced on Thursday, featuring 89 competitors, there was exactly one Black golfer in the field: the one we all know, Tiger Woods. Beyond that, the field for the 88th Masters didn’t look all that different from the previous 87. Read more
The Legend of Playoff Jimmy. By Louisa Thomas / The New Yorker
For years now, just in time for the N.B.A. post-season, sure as the daffodils, Jimmy Butler has transformed into the world’s greatest basketball player—or something close to it.
This is Butler’s time, or should be: spring, the start of the N.B.A. post-season, when Butler transforms into Playoff Jimmy and leads the middling Miami Heat to glory, as sure as the daffodils. Four years ago, inside the N.B.A.’s pandemic bubble, Butler led the fifth-seeded Heat to the N.B.A. Finals, where the team lost to the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers. Read more
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