As an author and journalist, I have been telling the story of the civil rights movement my entire career. I’m 70 years old, so that is a long time. Today, in the 21st century, I see a great fight for racial justice in action — a second civil rights movement, if you will.
This second wave builds on the achievements of the first but is not an extension of it. The first civil rights movement was about getting Black people out of the back of the bus. It was about breaking down segregation in all aspects of American life. Yet, more than 15 years after Obama’s inauguration — and the historic ascensions to power of Black members of Congress, Black Cabinet secretaries and a Black vice president that have taken place since — a post-racial America has continued to elude us. This is the mantle of the second movement.
The newest generation of civil rights activists battles a behemoth of lingering racial inequalities left unresolved by the first movement, and they diverge from their forebears in three significant ways. Read more
Political / Social
Presidents Expect Loyalty. Trump Demands Fealty. By John Bolton / NYT
In fact, Mr. Trump, whose understanding of the Constitution is sketchy, really wants his appointees to display fealty, a medieval concept implying not mere loyalty but submission.
This is indisputably damaging to a free society, but it is a well-established Trump habit. Neither kings nor presidents, nor their countries, are well served if they are surrounded by sycophants and opportunists. Truly strong presidents are not afraid of advisers with strong views. Read more
Related: A Day of Love’: How Trump Inverted the Violent History of Jan. 6. By Dan Barry and Alan Feuer / NYT
Related: Trump and GOP allies falsely blame New Orleans attack on immigration failures. By Rebecca Shabad / NBC News
‘I Mean, I’m Not Surprised’: Elon Musk Slammed As a ‘Racist’ After Seemingly Fully Embracing White Victimhood with Endorsement of Post Comparing DEI to Jim Crow. By Christian Boone / Atlanta Black Star
Tech billionaire Elon Musk continued his recent trend of incendiary musings Friday morning when he shared a post comparing diversity, equity and inclusion programs to laws designed to disenfranchise Black Americans.
“DEI is racism and sexism,” wrote Musk, replying to a post on X — the social media platform he owns — that read “Jim Crow and DEI.” Read more
Related: “Dangerous”: Officials alarmed at Elon Musk “sowing divisions and spreading hate” in Europe. By Nicholas Liu / Salon
What Vivek Ramaswamy Leaves Out of His Story of South Asian Success. By Zaid Jilani / NYT
Vivek Ramaswamy, who has been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to help lead a government-efficiency initiative, recently argued on X that Americans can learn from high-skill immigrants, especially those working in the science and tech industries, because “American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long.”
It would be easy to shrug this off as South Asian chauvinism. The idea of a “model minority,” which puts Asian Americans on a pedestal, has been criticized with considerable justification. For one thing, the immigrants who come to the United States from those societies are typically among their most ambitious members. In the case of South Asia, they don’t represent a cross section of India or Pakistan, where millions of people still lack literacy and are not coming to our shores to run tech companies. Read more
In the GOP Civil War Over Immigration, Both Sides Are Racists. By Jeet Heer / The Nation
Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy want cheap labor—not a multiracial democracy.
The current intramural GOP strife is a familiar battle between a business elite that wants cheap immigrant labor and nativist agitators who believe restriction of immigration is central to the MAGA agenda. As New York magazine reports, “Last week, while Americans were busy celebrating the holidays with their families, a contentious online rift emerged among the MAGA faithful after Donald Trump’s tech-world allies, led by billionaire Elon Musk, began pushing back on attacks on highly skilled foreign tech workers by the movement’s nativist wing.” Read more
Corporate DEI Programs Recoil and Rebrand as Pressure Mounts. By Clara Hudson and David Hood / Bloomberg News
The attack on corporate DEI programs, after gaining momentum throughout 2024, is poised to expand into the new year.
Five trends emerged in 2024 that are likely to continue: conservative influencer Robby Starbuck, emboldened by success, expects to target more companies to dismantle their diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives; companies have increasingly been changing the ways they talk about DEI to avoid political conflict; conservative forces in Washington have set their sights on corporate and government DEI programs; legal groups challenging diversity programs will persist; and more companies are expected to flag DEI as a risk. Read more
Related: We’ll Miss DEI When It’s Gone. By Malcolm Feguson / TNR
Tim Scott becomes longest-serving Black senator in US history. By Beatrice Peterson / ABC News
Soaring Application Numbers Suggest Historically Black Colleges Are Still in Vogue. By Declan Bradley / Chronicle of Higher Ed.
President Biden poses with Morehouse College graduates and officials during a commencement ceremony in Atlanta in May.
Historically Black colleges and universities saw a nearly 30-percent jump in first-year applicants during the 2022-23 admissions cycle, according to new federal data — a sign that their recent renaissance is continuing. The 64 HBCUs that had reported data as of this month saw a collective 543,066 applications for the class of 2027, the largest applicant pool in at least a decade. The growth at HBCUs significantly outpaced other higher-education institutions: Over all, college applications were up just 6 percent. Read more
World News
‘Our country ignored Africa,’ Jimmy Carter said. He didn’t. By Cara Anna / AP
A girl holds a portrait of U.S. President Jimmy Carter in a market in Lagos, Nigeria, March 31, 1978, the day of his arrival for a state visit, the first to Africa by an American president.
Jimmy Carter was the first U.S. president to make a state visit to sub-Saharan Africa. He once called helping with Zimbabwe’s transition from white rule to independence “our greatest single success.” And when he died at 100, his foundation’s work in rural Africa had nearly fulfilled his quest to eliminate a disease that afflicted millions, for the first time since the eradication of smallpox. Read more
Related: Jimmy Carter Warned Us About Israeli Apartheid. By Stephen Zunes / The Progressive
Related: Jimmy Carter Saw Where Israel Was Headed. He Was Ignored. By Noah Lanard / Mother Jones
Johannesburg’s shuttered main library becomes symbol of city in decay. By Rob Rose / Financial Times
Johannesburg’s officials are coming under mounting pressure to finally reopen the city’s main public library after four years, in a battle that many residents say epitomises the decline of South Africa’s economic hub.
The building, a neo-renaissance masterpiece that was once a refuge for the city’s children and unemployed workers, closed during the pandemic. Despite numerous pledges of restoration, officials claim it poses a fire risk and, for now, must remain shut. Read more
‘Come home,’ Ghana told the African diaspora. Now some Black Americans take its citizenship. By The Grio
Americans face few obstacles to living in Ghana, with most people paying an annual residency fee. Keachia Bowers, second from right, her husband Damon Smith, right, and their children play cards in the living room of their home in Accra, Ghana, Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Their family relocated to Ghana from Florida and have obtained Ghanaian citizenship
“When I was 10 years old, I was supposed to come to Ghana with him,” she said. A day earlier, she had marked 10 years since her father’s death. Though he was a Pan-Africanist who dreamed of visiting Ghana, he never made it here. Bowers and her husband, Damon Smith, however, are among the 524 diaspora members, mostly Black Americans, who were granted Ghanaian citizenship in a ceremony in November. Read more
Ethics / Morality / Religion
How Jimmy Carter integrated his evangelical Christian faith into his political work, despite mockery and misunderstanding. By Lori Amber Roessner / The Conversation
“I am a farmer, an engineer, a businessman, a planner, a scientist, a governor, and a Christian,” Jimmy Carter said while introducing himself to national political reporters when he announced his campaign to be the 39th president of the United States in December 1974.
After studying Carter’s presidential campaign, presidency and post-presidency for years, which included examining more than 25,000 archival documents, media sources, oral histories and interviews, I wrote “Jimmy Carter and the Birth of the Marathon Media Campaign.” Along the way, I had the opportunity to interview former President Carter in October 2014, when we discussed his life, his presidency and his legacy. Based upon this experience, one observation is certain – Carter was a man of faith committed to a vision of the nation that aligned with his views of Jesus’ teachings. Read more
Chaos or Community: Where Do We Go From Here? Rich Pérez and John Onwuchekwa / Christianity Today Podcast
The pilot episode explores the intricate relationship between race, space, and community in American cities.
In this pilot episode, “Chaos or Community: Where Do We Go From Here?,” we explore the intricate relationship between race, space, and community in American cities. Drawing inspiration from Martin Luther King Jr.’s seminal work, we journey from historical bus rides to present-day urban landscapes, examining how our cities aren’t shaped by accident, but by design. Read more and listen here
After every election, I turn to Tolstoy. By Julian DeShazier / The Christian Century
His challenges to the left and right alike are devastating and timely. Julian DeShazier is senior minister of University Church in Chicago.
The most influential book on my political theology is Leo Tolstoy’s The Kingdom of God Is Within You, which once read cannot be unread. I return to it after every election season. Its reminders to the left and right are devastating and timely. The book, written not long after Tolstoy’s “conversion”—he was baptized Christian but, like a lot of people, didn’t take it seriously until late in adulthood—is an essay or missive or series of rambling thoughts about the dangers of the relationship between the church (in this case, Russian Orthodox) and state (the Russian Empire). Read more
Historical / Cultural
Biden awards Denzel Washington, Magic Johnson and Fannie Lou Hamer with Presidential Medal of Freedom. By Gerren Keith Gaynor / The Grio
The ceremony unfolded in the historic White House East Room, where President Biden reflected on its legacy as the site where President Lincoln met Frederick Douglass in 1865 to “unify the nation.”
Other recipients included former Secretary of State, U.S. Senator and First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, musician Bono, actor Michael J. Fox, the late Robert F. Kennedy, Sr., fashion designer Ralph Lauren, and longtime Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour. Read more
Related: Bennie Thompson awarded Presidential Citizens Medal by Biden in a full-circle moment for the Mississippi lawmaker. By Gerren Keith Gaynor / The Grio
Biden to create two national monuments in California honoring tribes. By Maxine Joselow / Wash Post
The Chuckwalla and Sáttítla national monuments would safeguard landscapes that Native American tribes have revered for thousands of years. Boulders with Indigenous rock carvings, or petroglyphs, at the proposed Chuckwalla National Monument near Chiriaco Summit, Calif.
President Joe Biden plans to create two new national monuments in California in the coming days, according to two people briefed on the announcement, aiming to cement his environmental legacy before President-elect Donald Trump takes office. Read more
Watch rare footage of Jimi Hendrix’s final performance in 1970. By Jonathan Graham / Guitar Player
Less than two weeks before his death, Jimi Hendrix took to the stage for his final — and somewhat chaotic — scheduled performance with the Experience, featuring Billy Cox and Mitch Mitchell
If you asked those fortunate enough to see Jimi Hendrix perform live at one of his 350 or so shows during his short career to describe the experience, words like “amazing,” “electrifying,” “otherworldly,” “loud” and “unpredictable” would likely rank high among their descriptive choices. However, for his final scheduled performance — at a festival marred by technical issues, rain delays, traffic chaos, a lack of facilities and eventual cancellations — the unpredictable element was whether the guitar icon would show up at all. Read more and watch here
Luther Vandross documentary, ‘Luther: Never Too Much,’ now streaming. By Duante Beddingfield / Detroit Free Press
The story of this special man and his iconic music is told in “Luther: Never Too Much,” a new documentary that debuted on CNN this week. The film was also screened locally at the Freep Film Festival in spring 2024, to rave reactions.
“Luther: Never Too Much” is available on demand to pay TV subscribers via CNN.com, CNN-connected TV and mobile apps, and cable operator platforms. It is also available via Hulu, however, only through the Hulu + live TV level subscription. It will also be re-aired Sunday, Jan. 5, at 9 p.m. on CNN. Read more
Sports
Simone Biles named Sports Illustrated 2024 Sportsperson of the Year. By GMA Team
American gymnast Simone Biles has added another title to her resume. The 11-time Olympic medalist was named Thursday by Sports Illustrated as its 2024 Sportsperson of the Year.
“Honestly, it is such a huge honor. I know some of the greats that have won it in prior years, so to just keep gymnastics on the map is really exciting,” Biles, 27, told “Good Morning America” of the Sports Illustrated accolade. “I know a lot of people love the sport of gymnastics during an Olympic year and have followed my career closely, but I was still very shocked.” Read more
FBS National Championship Will Have Black Head Coach, A First. By Editor at NewsOne
Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman and Penn State’s James Franklin will square off in a semifinal matchup.
While Black athletes have long dominated the sport of football on the field, it’s a completely different story along the sidelines as head coaches have typically been white. That is especially true when it comes to college football and, in particular, the national championship game, the latter of which has never included a single Black head coach on the sidelines. That is, until now. Read more
LeBron James breaks Michael Jordan’s record for 30-point games with his 563rd. By AP and NBC News
LeBron James broke Michael Jordan’s NBA record for 30-point games during the Los Angeles Lakers’ victory over Atlanta on Friday night.
With a turnaround jumper with 5:58 to play for the last of his 30 points, James reached at least 30 points in the regular season for the 563rd time in his career, surpassing the mark established by Jordan in 2003. Jordan set his record in 1,072 games over 15 seasons, while James surpassed it in his 1,523rd appearance over 22 seasons. Read more
Ravens’ Lamar Jackson Makes Unique NFL History. By Jon Alfano / SI
Stop us if you’ve heard this one before, Baltimore Ravens star quarterback Lamar Jackson made NFL history yet again. That sentence has been repeated ad nauseum this season, yet somehow, the two-time MVP keeps finding new ways to amaze.
Following Saturday’s 35-10 win over the Cleveland Browns, Jackson finishes the regular season with 4,172 passing yards, 41 passing touchdowns and just four interceptions, good for the fourth-best single-season passer rating in NFL history at 119.6. Additionally, he rushed for 916 yards and four touchdowns, his highest rushing total since 2020. With that stat line, Jackson becomes the first player in NFL history to throw for 4,000 yards and rush for 800 yards, let alone 900, in the same season. Read more
Site Information
Articles appearing in the Digest are archived on our home page. And at the top of this page register your email to receive notification of new editions of Race Inquiry Digest.
Click here for earlier Digests. The site is searchable by name or topic. See “search” at the top of this page.
About Race Inquiry and Race Inquiry Digest. The Digest is published on Mondays and Thursdays.
Use the customized buttons below to share the Digest in an email, or post to your Facebook, Linkedin or Twitter accounts.
Pay attention: There’s a second civil rights movement. By Juan Williams / Wash Post