Featured
Why Martin Luther King Jr.’s sharpest question remains unanswered. By Peniel E. Joseph / CNN
Had he lived, Martin Luther King Jr. would be 95 years old this year. The tragic brevity of his life, cut short by an assassin in 1968, remains a testament to the enduring impact he made during his short time on earth.
Then, as now, racism, war, poverty and violence scarred the domestic landscape, and its parallel growth in the international arena threatened world peace and stability. Social justice movements swelled at home and abroad and anti-democratic forces organized strongholds in America that, although rooted in the Deep South’s former Confederacy, stretched from sea to shining sea. At the same time, the search for what King called the Beloved Community—a world free of the war’s pestilence, racism’s violence and poverty’s indignity—inspired social justice and peace activists in King’s time, just as ours.
MLK Day 2024 reminds us that the partisan divisions of today are not so different from the political landscape faced by King in his time. The passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and the 1965 Voting Rights Act were not pre-ordained – nor were they universally beloved pieces of legislation. Read more
Related: The Half-Truths We’ve Told About MLK. By Daniel K. Williams / Christianity Today
A Candle in the Dark. A History of Morehouse College. By Edward A. Jones / Valley Forge, Pennsylvania: Judson, 1967.
The historically black all male Morehouse college in Atlanta has had an outsized influence on American history, serving as, among other things, one of the crucibles of the civil rights movement, and counting Martin Luther King, Jr. as one of its graduates.
Editor’s note: Unfortunately “A Candle in the Dark” is out of print. Copies can be found in libraries around the country.
Political / Social
What is “Freedom” in the Black Freedom Struggle? By M. Keith Claybrook Jr. / AAIHS
Freedom is at the center of the Black freedom struggle. 2020 Protest in Washington, DC (Johnny Silvercloud/Shutterstock
The Strange Career of Jim Crow, The Strange Careers of the Jim Crow North, and The New Jim Crow examine the diversity of ways that Black people in the United States have had their freedom denied. There is a River: The Black Struggle for Freedom in America, Freedom Dreams, and Strategic Sisterhood: The National Council of Negro Women in the Black Freedom Struggle examine Black peoples diverse efforts in the continued struggle from freedom. Read more
Asian American eligible voters grew more than any other racial group since last presidential election. By Kimmy Yam / NBC News
“The fact that Asian American eligible voter growth is five times that of the population overall is still striking and would seem to demand the attention of any campaign looking to expand its reach,” one expert said.
The number of Asian American eligible voters skyrocketed over the past presidential election cycle, a new Pew Research Center report shows. The report, released Wednesday, revealed that in the past four years, the Asian American eligible voter population grew by 15%. That far outpaces the growth rate of all eligible voters at 3%, making them the fastest-growing electorate in the U.S. Read more
Related: Advocates work to get Native voters registered in Arizona. By Ximena Bustillo / NPR
Civil War talk in presidential contest reveals fresh divisions on race. By Toluse Olorunnipa / Wash Post
The conflict that ripped the country apart 160 years ago has resurfaced as a campaign issue. Image History
What started with a single question from a voter about the origins of the Civil War has morphed into a sprawling political clash over a monumental event in American history, making the Civil War a major component of a presidential election for the first time in recent memory and exposing fresh divisions over race, history and progress. Read more
Related: Why are Republicans Still Debating Slavery and Insurrection? By Jelani Cobb / The New Yorker
Trump Loves to Play With Fire. By Jamelle Bouie / NYT
To be a Republican politician in the age of Donald Trump is to live under the threat of violence from his most fanatical and aggressive followers.
Although no one, so far, has been physically harmed, these threats have had an effect. First and foremost, as Zack Beauchamp notes in a perceptive piece for Vox, they work to “discipline elected Republicans — to force them to toe whatever line the Trumpists want them to walk, or else.” Read more
Related: How death threats get Republicans to fall in line behind Trump. By Zack Beauchamp / Vox
Related: Roger Stone Plotted Assassinating Democrats, Bombshell Report Says. By Tori Otten / The New Republic
For Sputtering Diversity Efforts, Claudine Gay’s Resignation Risks Further Setbacks. By Katherine Mangan / Chronicle of Higher Ed.
“Discouraged but not deterred,” was how Janice Gassam Asare described her reaction to the latest high-profile setback in her efforts to diversify the ranks of higher-education leaders.
When Claudine Gay resigned last week as president of Harvard University, her critics framed it as a win for those who have been fighting to dismantle diversity, equity, and inclusion programs at colleges nationwide. Harvard’s first Black president was a champion of diversity efforts and an inspiration to many in the field. Her downfall — partly self-inflicted but also largely orchestrated by activists and politicians hostile to what they see as the liberal takeover of higher education — threatened to further destabilize a field that was already on the defensive. Read more
Related: Elon Musk criticized by civil rights groups for anti-DEI posts. By David Ingram / NBC News
The Snowflaking of White Privilege. By Thom Hartman / The Hartman Report
If America is ever to become a pluralistic, multiracial democratic republic we must come to terms with racism and white privilege…
Some white people really don’t want to hear that if they’d been born Black their lives would have almost certainly been much harder. It shatters their ability to cling to the number one most important aspect/benefit of white privilege. It confronts them with the end of innocence. This is particularly difficult for America’s elite media. The very idea of calling out, for example, Trump supporters for their racism is “beyond the pale.” And I mean that nearly literally. Read more
Related: What more education on racial issues taught me. By Perry Bacon Jr. / Wash Post
Black Residents Liken Mississippi’s New Court System to ‘Modern Day Slavery.’ By and
An appeals court says Mississippi can move forward with its state-run court system in the majority-Black capital city, despite overwhelming opposition.
Jackson, Mississippi, resident and organizer Rukia Lumumba is frustrated with a recent federal appeals court decision that allows Mississippi to move forward with its separate, state-run court system in her hometown. Backed by a mostly white, Republican-controlled Legislature, Gov. Tate Reeves signed into law last year HB 1020 and SB 2343, which respectively establish a separate judicial system and increase police presence in the majority-Black capital city. Lawmakers claimed the bills would reduce crime in Jackson. But, organizers like Lumumba, the executive director of the People’s Advocacy Institute, say it’s an attempt to undermine the authority of the Black leadership and voting power of residents. Read more
Related: Chicago Mayor Pushes For Reparations To Reduce Crime. By Christopher Rhodes / Blavity
Related: The Cops Killed More People in 2023 Than They Had in Years. By Elie Mystal / The Nation
Rates of stroke decreasing, but racial inequity worsens for Black Americans, new study finds. By Dr. Angela Zhang / ABC News
Although rates of strokes in the adult population have generally decreased over the last several decades, the racial inequity gap persists, according to a new study in Neurology, which found that Black adults are still more likely to have strokes compared to white adults, and at younger ages.
Inequities in stroke diagnosis, management, and long-term functional and cognitive outcomes have been well documented for Black Americans. The study showed that medical conditions that increase risk for stroke, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, became more common in both Black and white groups, but disproportionately for Black individuals. Read more
Disparities endure for young Black adults, Latino kids in D.C. region. By Kyle Swenson / Wash Post
The country has made “incremental progress” reducing racial and ethnic disparities in early childhood but stubborn differences remain for children of color, according to a new report released Tuesday.
$100 million gift from Lilly Endowment to United Negro College Fund will support HBCU endowments. By Annie Ma / AP
The United Negro College Fund announced a donation of $100 million from the Lilly Endowment Inc., the single largest unrestricted gift to the organization since its founding 80 years ago
The gift announced Thursday will go toward a pooled endowment for the 37 historically Black colleges and universities that form UNCF’s membership, with the goal of boosting the schools’ long-term financial stability. HBCUs, which have small endowments compared with other colleges, have seen an increase in donations since the racial justice protests spurred by the killing of George Floyd in Minnesota. Michael Lomax, president and CEO of UNCF, said donors today no longer question the need for HBCUs and instead ask how gifts to the schools can have the largest impact. Read more
Ethics / Morality / Religion
Blacks and Jews: Shame, pride and the Curse of Canaan. By Joshua Hammerman / RNS
A large group gathers to watch a wreath-laying ceremony at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Washington, Jan. 16, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
On this week when we celebrate the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., and with rates of antisemitism and racism on the rise, it’s important to reassert the common roots of hatred directed against both Blacks and Jews. At a time when we also see the terrible psychological blow Oct. 7 has taken on Jews everywhere, and the continuing efforts of white supremacists to attack and divide, we need to redouble efforts to cultivate that common ground. Read more
Related: Is Israel Part of What It Means to Be Jewish? By Marc Tracy / NYT
Dealing with racism in the Book of Mormon. By Jana Riess / RNS
North Carolina may seem an unlikely powerhouse for cutting-edge Book of Mormon Studies, but all three of the authors of the two new Book of Mormon resources I’m highlighting hail from the state.
Last week I ran an interview with Grant Hardy, whose “Oxford Annotated Book of Mormon” is now available. Today, I talk to Fatimah Salleh and Margaret Olsen Hemming, co-authors of the three-volume series “The Book of Mormon for the Least of These.” The third volume, which takes on Helaman through Moroni, has recently been released. Read more
‘God & Country’ film spotlights Christian nationalism’s threat to democracy. By Michelle Boorstein / Wash Post
A man holds a Bible as supporters of former president Donald Trump gather outside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (John Minchillo/AP)
“God & Country,” a new documentary produced by Rob Reiner, opens with idyllic scenes of American churches and a speaker borrowing part of a well-known quote of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.: “When I look at all the injustices of the world, and I drive past churches, I ask myself: What kind of people worship there?” The goal of the documentary is to wake up churchgoing American Christians — who number in the many tens of millions — to the threat of anti-democratic religious extremism in the United States. The film will open in theaters on Feb. 16. Read more
The “Chosen One”: Why experts say a new campaign ad from Trump signals impending violence. By Chauncey Devega / Salon
“People need to understand what comes next, always, is violence”
But Trump will not just be a regular political thug. Instead, he will be a type of dictator who claims a divine mandate. Some of history’s most evil and destructive dictators, most notably Adolf Hitler also believed that they were on a mission from god. Public opinion polls and other research show that millions of Trump’s MAGA supporters already believe that he is a divine figure, anointed by their god. By extension, this means that they too are part of a divine struggle and are blessed by their god for supporting Donald Trump and that heaven will be their reward for such loyalty. This is the “logic” of religious-political radicalization and extremism and the violence and destruction it inevitably brings. Read more
Related: Experts on why so many Republicans accept that “God gave us Trump.” By Chauncey Devega / Salon
Related: Trumpism Is Devouring the Evangelical Movement. By Michelle Goldberg / NYT
A new biblical epic, ‘The Book of Clarence,’ captures the political side of the messiah. By Andre Henry / RNS
Clarence (LaKeith Stanfield), from left, Barabbas (Omar Sy) and Elijah (R.J. Cyler) in “The Book of Clarence.” (Photo © 2023 Legendary Entertainment/Moris Puccio)
“The Book of Clarence,” an irreverent biblical comedy, produced by the rap star Jay-Z, that counters decades of whitewashed and stiff-necked biblical narratives. The movie, written and directed by Samuel, hints at how much more compellingly Jesus’ story could be told if it were told like Clarence’s. In theaters. Read more
Historical / Cultural
Letter from Selma. By Renata Adler / The New Yorker April 2, 1965
In 1965, Renata Adler reported on Martin Luther King Jr. , and the historic march from Selma to Montgomery that galvanized President Lyndon Johnson, Congress, and the Nation.
The thirty thousand people who at one point or another took part in this week’s march from the Brown Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Selma, Alabama, to the statehouse in Montgomery were giving highly dramatic expression to a principle that could be articulated only in the vaguest terms. They were a varied lot: local Negroes, Northern clergymen, members of labor unions, delegates from state and city governments, entertainers, mothers pushing baby carriages, members of civil-rights groups more or less at odds with one another, isolated, shaggy marchers with an air of simple vagrancy, doctors, lawyers, teachers, children, college students, and a preponderance of what one marcher described as “ordinary, garden- variety civilians from just about everywhere. Read more
Our true feelings about race and identity are revealed in six words. By Michele Norris / Wash Post
I printed 200 black postcards at my local FedEx Kinko’s on upper Wisconsin Avenue asking people to condense their thoughts on race or cultural identity into one sentence of six words. The front of the cards simply read: Race. Your thoughts. 6 words. Please send. This essay was adapted from “Our Hidden Conversations: What Americans Really think About Race and Identity.” by Michele Norris.
I left the cards everywhere I traveled: in bookstores, in restaurants, at the information kiosks in airports, on the writing desks at all my hotels. Though limited to six words, the stories are often shocking in their candor and intimacy. They reveal fear, disappointment, regret and resentment. Some are kissed by grace or triumph. A surprising number arrive in the form of a question, which suggests that many people hunger not just for answers but for permission to speak their truths. It was amazing what people could pack into such a small package: Read more
How Octavia Butler Told the Future. By Tiya Miles / The Atlantic
Somehow she knew this time would come. The smoke-choked air from fire gone wild, the cresting rivers and rising seas, the sweltering heat and receding lakes, the melting away of civil society and political stability, the light-year leaps in artificial intelligence—Octavia Butler foresaw them all.
Butler was not a climate scientist, a political pundit, or a Silicon Valley technologist. The author of imaginative and often disturbing speculative fiction such as Parable of the Sower (1993), she was a Black woman descended from enslaved people in Louisiana, raised by a strictly religious mother in Los Angeles, educated at community and regional colleges, and besieged by feelings of professional marginalization for most of her too-short life. Read more
Inside Ava DuVernay’s ‘Origin’, a Global Investigation With a Personal Touch. By Rebecca Ford / Vanity Fair
The Selma filmmaker adapts Isabel Wilkerson’s 2020 bestseller Caste, but centers her film on the writer’s own journey.
As a writer-director, DuVernay had adapted powerful, true stories for the screen with much success, with 2014’s Oscar-nominated drama Selma and 2019’s Emmy-nominated series When They See Us, but her adaptation of Caste, titled Origin, would require her to tell a story that spanned generations and continents. Caste was a literary phenomenon in 2020, spending 55 weeks on the US bestseller lists and reportedly selling more than 1.5 million copies. Wilkerson, the Pulitzer –winning, bestselling author of The Warmth of Other Suns, presents a bold and convincing premise, that racism in America is a caste system similar to those in India and Nazi Germany. Read more
Ernest Cole presents America from an exile’s perspective. By Raoul Peck / Wash Post
Washington, D.C., 1968, from Ernest Cole: The True America (Aperture, 2023). (Ernest Cole/ Ernest Cole Family Trust)
The following op-ed by Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck is adapted from his essay in a new book published by Aperture, “The True America,” about South African photographer Ernest Cole’s work in the United States, much of which is about to be published for the first time. Cole, who died in 1990, is the author of “House of Bondage,” which chronicles the horrors of apartheid. Read more
Black Music Sunday: We won’t water down the songs we sing for Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. By Denise Oliver Velez / Daily Kos
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, which is now a national holiday here in the U.S. after 15 years of struggle to make it happen, is celebrated on the the third Monday of January, though he was born on Jan. 15, 1929. Over time, much of who the man was and what he inspired has been watered down, with even right-wing racists quoting Dr. King’s words as a cover for what they really believe in (white supremacy and white privilege).
The music that was generated by the movement he helped lead remains as powerful as his words and actions. Let’s listen to some of it today. Read more and listen here
Sports
Houston Texans’ DeMeco Ryans, C.J. Stroud a rare Black coach-quarterback combo in the playoffs. By Martenzie Johnson / Andscape
Houston Texans coach DeMeco Ryans (left) talks about quarterback CJ Stroud (right) during an introductory news conference April 28, 2023, in Houston. Kevin M. Cox/AP Photo
When the Houston Texans host the Cleveland Browns in the wild-card round of the NFL playoffs on Saturday, they will have accomplished something that hasn’t been done in over two decades. With rookie head DeMeco Ryans and rookie quarterback C.J. Stroud, this will be just the sixth Black head coach-starting quarterback combo to appear in a playoff game together, and it’s the first time since the 2000 season. Houston 45 – Browns 14. Read more
Related: New England Patriots’ promotion of Jerod Mayo important for Black coaches. By Jason Reid / Andscape
ESPN’s Pat McAfee is part of the network’s culture wars: Jemele Hill. By Mike Freeman / USA Today
In 2017, while working at ESPN, Jemele Hill was criticized for telling the truth about Donald Trump. As with so many things, Hill was ahead of her time. She called Trump a white supremacist. Which was accurate.He was then and is now.
Why is this important now? Because at the time, ESPN had its ear to the ground, listening carefully to right-wing news sources, ran scared, and failed Hill. Now, seven years later, ESPN hosts the “Pat McAfee Show” and on it, Rodgers essentially called one of ABC’s biggest stars in Jimmy Kimmel a pedophile. Read more
Coach Ime Udoka returns to Boston with a rebuilt Houston Rockets team. By Marc J. Spears / Andscape
Former Celtics coach and players reflect on his progress after his suspension and dismissal in 2023
Ime Udoka walked off the floor after his first season as coach of the Boston Celtics on June 16, 2022, two wins short of an NBA championship, yet proud of what was accomplished. On Saturday, Udoka will return to the sideline to coach at TD Garden for the first time since that summer, as coach of the Houston Rockets. In between the NBA Finals appearance and becoming the Rockets coach was the Celtics’ suspension and dismissal of Udoka for an improper work relationship. Read more
Michigan state football coach sex scandal appeal denied for Mel Tucker. By Kenny Jacoby / USA Today
The long-running campus sexual harassment investigation of former Michigan State University head football coach Mel Tucker is officially over.
An outside attorney hired by the school to review Tucker’s challenge to the findings of fault against him denied his appeal in a 24-page report issued Thursday, ending the process nearly 13 months after the complaint was filed by a rape survivor and anti-sexual violence activist. Read more
Coco Gauff Cries ‘Foul’ as She Lashes Out at ‘Ugly’ Attempt to Back Americans Playing in the Australian Open. By Anurag Gusain / Essentially Sports
The United States Tennis Association recently shared cartoon art featuring the likes of Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, and their male counterparts, Ben Shelton, Frances Tiaofe, Taylor Fritz, and others. While labeling it the ‘Seeded Americans at the Australian Open,’ the American tennis authority added the caption, “The 🇺🇸 crew is ready Down Under
Reacting to it, the 19-year-old Coco Gauff expressed her disapproval of the cartoon art on social media. While retweeting the post, the reigning Grand Slam champion stated, “bruh…. what even is this. Read more
Ben Shelton: US tennis star doesn’t want to ‘put a ceiling’ on what he can achieve. By George Ramsay / CNN
About this time last year, Ben Shelton was an up-and-coming tennis player taking his first-ever trip outside the United States.
Not long out of college, Shelton was relatively unknown on the circuit having only been pro for the past six months. But armed with a lethal serve and the fearlessness of youth, things were about to change – fast. “I feel like it went from nobody knowing me to a lot of people knowing me kind of overnight,” Shelton tells CNN Sport. “It felt really quick.” Skip ahead 12 months and the 21-year-old American is in Australia preparing to play in his sixth grand slam and second at Melbourne Park. Read more
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