Race Inquiry Digest (July 19) – Important Current Stories On Race In America

Feature – The Real Threat to American Democracy Isn’t Russia. It’s the Right. A week ago, Norman Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, brought some attention to a growing threat to the integrity of our elections. “[B]y 2040 or so,” he tweeted, “70 percent of Americans will live in 15 states. Meaning 30 percent will choose 70 senators. And the 30% will be older, whiter, more rural, more male than the 70 percent.” Ornstein’s … point is clear: 30 percent of the population of the country will control 68 percent of the seats in the U.S. Senate. Or, more starkly, half the population of the country will control 84 percent of those seats. Read more 

Trump Is Not Putin’s Puppet. There’s a better explanation for his fondness for the Russian president. For Trump and European reactionaries, globalism represents a threat to traditional values and “Western civilization,” and like Putin, Trump’s reactionary social views shape his view of Europe. Trump and Putin, then, are friendly because they are allies against liberalism and “globalism.” Read more 
Donald Trump, King of the White People, bends the knee to a foreign tyrant. Donald Trump’s ugly racist fantasies, embraced by millions of Americans, brought us to this national disgrace. Read more 

“I’m Rested and Ready to Fight”—The Reverend Barber’s Battle Cry Is One for the Ages. On the Mother Jones podcast, join us for a fiery conversation with Rev. Barber, where we delve into how his movement has built a progressive coalition in the South, how to stand up against inequality and voter suppression, and why the fight isn’t just about President Donald Trump. Read and Listen here 
Is Empathy the Essence of Soul Music? The genre’s sound, sentiments, and politics all aim for the same connection. Read more 

How New Orleans Is Helping Its Students Succeed. The New Orleans turnaround shows the power of giving more freedom to teachers and principals — and then holding them accountable for their performance. Read more 

Reopening The Case Of Emmett Till. Something in Timothy Tyson’s 2017 book “The Blood of Emmett Till” led the Justice Department to reopen its probe into the 1955 lynching. Timothy Tyson and Deborah Watts, cousin of Emmett Till and co-founder and executive director of the Emmett Till Legacy Foundation are interviewed on On Point. Read and Listen here   

What data on 20 million traffic stops can tell us about ‘driving while black.’In the late-1990s, the concept of “driving while black” began getting national attention. North Carolina became the first state to mandate the collection of traffic stops data in 1999, thanks in large part to efforts by black representatives in the state legislature. Read more 
Design for Charleston Attack Memorial Draws on Pain, Strength and Forgiveness. Curving, high-backed benches and a fountain are features of the proposed memorial at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, S.C., seen in and artist’s rendering. Read more 

How Washington Wound Up Screwing Over Native Americans. The first president was more enlightened about Indian affairs than most of his countrymen, but even Washington was a firm believer in ‘what’s good for us is good for them.’ Read more 

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