Race Inquiry Digest (Sep 13) – The Week’s Top Stories

The Weekend Edition of Race Inquiry Digest features the top stories from the two previous Digests published during the week.  Click here for earlier Digests.

Editor’s Note: What would Martin Luther King say about political assassination ? 

Martin Luther King Jr. would almost certainly have condemned political assassination in the strongest moral and ethical terms. He consistently rejected violence as a means of achieving political goals, insisting that change must come through nonviolent action, moral persuasion, and the cultivation of justice. To King, taking a life to advance an agenda was not only illegal but a profound moral failure that undermined the very principles of democracy and human dignity.

He often framed violence as a self-defeating tool: while it may produce short-term outcomes, it corrodes the soul of society and provokes cycles of retaliation and hatred. In his writings and speeches, King emphasized that the means of pursuing justice must reflect the ends—true justice cannot be built on acts of cruelty or terror. Political assassination, in his view, would be an ultimate betrayal of the ideals of equality, compassion, and nonviolent resistance that he championed throughout his life.

The Week’s Top Stories

Political / Social

Donald Trump has an Achilles heel that threatens the whole world. By Thom Hartman / MSN  Read more 

Chicago vs. Trump: Is This A Preamble to Civil War? By Stacey Patton / Newsone  Read more  

Black Unemployment Surges in August 2025 as Job Market Slows – Only 22K Jobs Added Overall. By Fisher Jack / Eurweb  Read more 

GOP Senator Draws Outrage After Speech on Who America “Belongs To.”  By Robert McCoy / TNR  Read more 

They Don’t Want to Live in Lincoln’s America. By Jamelle Bouie / NYT  Read more 

Education

HBCUs Under Pressure: Navigating Political Threats. By Ronald J. Sheehy / Race Inquiry Digest Weekend Edition (Graves Hall Morehouse College)  Read more 

Emory Cuts DEI Programs, Georgia NAACP Responds. By Kandis Edwards / Black Enterprise  Read more 

World

Putin’s Message to Ukraine, Europe and Trump: I Won’t Back Down. Anton Troianovski / NYT  Read more 

Trump’s deadly Venezuela boat attack takes us into dangerous waters.  By Heather Digby Parton / Salon  Read more 

Ethics / Morality / Religion

Help Wanted! A Rallying Cry Against Religious Extremism. By Ginny Baxter / Patheos  Read more 

At NatCon (National Conservatism) an effort to make Christian nationalism a more inclusive movement. By Jack Jenkins / RNS   Read more 

Finding Faith In The Kite Runner’s Story Of Redemption. By Debbie Almontaser / Patheos  Read more 

Historical / Cultural

Trump vs. Truth: The Fight for America’s History. By Jeffrey Toobin / NYT Podcast   Read more and listen here 

Slavery and Capitalism : A New Marxist History. By David McNally / UC Press  Read more 

‘Nobody Can Give You Freedom’: A closer look at Malcolm X’s words. By Ken Makin / CS Monitor   Read more 

Amid debate about U.S. history, Harlem Hellfighters receive Congressional Gold Medal. By Alana Wise / NPR   Read more 

Sports

80 Years Ago, A Jewish Radical and Two Negro League Stars Led a Crusade to Integrate Baseball That Paved the Way for Jackie Robinson. By Peter Dreier / Znetwork  Read more 

Maya Moore’s Hall of Fame career is the least important reason she’s an all-time great. By David Aldridge / The Athletic   Read more 

All About Félix Auger-Aliassime’s Parents, Marie Auger and Sam Aliassime (Who Trained Him for 10 Years). By Emily Blackwood / People  Read more

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About Race Inquiry and Race Inquiry Digest. The Digest is published on Monday and Thursday. The Weekend Edition is published on Saturday. Click here for earlier Editions.

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