Featured
Black leaders say threats to undermine US democracy appear aimed at their community. By Ayanna Alexander / AP
The audience listens to a panel discussion about threats to democracy at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual legislative conference, Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023, in Washington. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
Some of the nation’s most influential Black leaders on Thursday said many threats to democratic institutions in the U.S. appear to be aimed squarely at their community, including efforts to make voting more difficult, censor lessons around race and weaken social safeguards such as affirmative action. Read more
Related: In Three Southern States, a Legal Battle Over Political Maps. By Michael Wines / NYT
Political / Social
Black UAW workers say they’re striking to keep the promise of a middle-class life. By Curtis Bunn / NBC News
Says one union member, “for Black people, who have been held back in society, building cars was a way to have a great life.”
After World War II ended in the 1940s, Black Americans found stable work and fairer wages making cars. Auto industry jobs were unionized and paid well, allowing Black autoworkers to form a Black labor “aristocracy,” according to a 2010 paper by Thomas J. Sugrue, a professor of history and sociology at the University of Pennsylvania. Work in auto plants provided an advancement for Black people who had been disproportionately restricted to such jobs as domestics, chauffeurs, custodians and farm laborers, according to Sugrue’s report. Read more
The Clarence Thomas Corruption Saga Just Got Even Worse. By Tori Otten / TNR
A new ProPublica report reveals deep, unethical connections between the Supreme Court justice and the Koch brothers.
Clarence Thomas has secretly participated in events for the Koch donor network for at least a decade, despite the fact that the group has brought cases before the Supreme Court, according to a bombshell new ProPublica report. Read more
Harris makes political, personal connection with students during college tour. By Sabrina Rodriguez / Wash Post
Vice President Harris takes a question about climate change from Reading Area Community College student Nangelie Zapata in the Miller Center on Tuesday in Reading, Pa. (Bill Uhrich/AP)
Harris is in the midst of a month-long “Fight for Our Freedoms” tour to several colleges throughout the country. The tour, which began last week with her visits to two historically Black schools, is an opportunity for Harris to talk about issues the Biden administration sees as most pressing for young voters as an election year approaches. Read more
Related: The GOP Wants You to Be Terrified of a Black Woman President. By Kali Holloway / The Daily Beast
DeSantis’ influence nosedives in Florida. By Gary Fineout and Kimberly Leonard / Politico
Interviews with nearly two dozen lobbyists, political consultants and lawmakers revealed that DeSantis’ struggles as a presidential candidate have already eroded his influence in Florida. There is a widespread expectation that his candidacy will end in failure. His standing at home may depend on how long he slogs forward in the presidential campaign — and how he will manage his exit from the race if he eventually drops out. Read more
Senate Confirms Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff, Sidestepping Tuberville Blockade. Karoun Demirjian and
Related: By Ajani Daniel and Jonathan Franklin / NPR
Dallas mayor switches to GOP, making city the largest led by a Republican. By Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff / Wash Post
DEI efforts are under attack. Big business wants Biden to weigh in. By Jessica Guynn / USA Today
HBCUs brace for flood of applications after Supreme Court affirmative action decision. LA Times
Related: Spelman College Ranks No. 1 HBCU For 15th Consecutive Year. By Dantee Ramos / Yahoo News
Ethics / Morality / Religion
National Cathedral windows shift from themes of Confederacy to racial justice. By Adelle M. Banks
There is a lot of work yet to be done to confront systemic racism,’ said the cathedral’s Dean Randy Hollerith.
After Florida restricts Black history, churches step up to teach it. By Brittany Shammas / Wash Post
Nazi Germany had admirers among American religious leaders – and white supremacy fueled their support. By Meghan Garrity and Malissa J. Wilde / The Conversation
Thousands of people attend a pro-Nazi rally at Madison Square Garden in New York in May 1934, with counterprotestors outside. Anthony Potter Collection/Hulton Archive via Getty Images
As a political scientist and a sociologist, we wanted to examine what Americans thought about Hitler and the National Socialist Party before the U.S. entered World War II – and see what lessons those findings might hold for our country today. Our recent research, which focused on religious publications, suggests that Americans’ support for Nazi Germany is best explained by belief in white supremacy. Read more
How Japanese American Pastors Prepared Their Flocks For Internment. By Tom Sugimura / CT
Sermons preached the Sunday before they were sent off exhorted suffering Christians to find their hope in Jesus and to continue to gather together
Many Japanese American Christians first heard about the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, as they returned home from Sunday worship. Japanese students gathered with their faculty at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California, to pray long into the evening. During the nightly curfew enforced for Nikkei (the term for all ethnic Japanese in the US), ministers telephoned frightened church members who huddled together in their homes. Read more
Historical / Cultural
African Americans and the State Militia. By Gregory Mixon / AAIHS
Buffalo soldiers of the 25th Infantry or the 9th Cavalry, while stationed at Yosemite National Park. ca. 1899 (Shutterstock)
During the Civil War, the United States government invited Black men to become citizen-soldiers to defend the U.S. This war was perhaps the one time, aside from the Revolutionary War, when the nation empowered Black men with guns. However, this moment of national defense raised questions of gender, access to weapons, the significance of voting rights earned on the battlefield, and Black citizenship. Read more
Mary McLeod Bethune, the Pan-Africanist: An Interview with Ashley Robertson Preston. By Karen Cook Bell / AAIHS
This is an interview with Black Perspectives blogger Karen Cook Bell, Professor of History and the Wilson H. Elkins Endowed Professor at Bowie State University, and Ashley Robertson Preston, Assistant Professor of History at Howard University. The two discuss Preston’s latest book, Mary McLeod Bethune: the Pan-Africanist (University of Florida Press, 2023). Read more
Michael Harriot’s book ‘Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America.’ By Ericka Taylor / NPR
In a desert of denialism, Harriot’s book is a welcome oasis.
Fans of the renowned journalist and cultural critic will be happy to find Harriot’s signature wit on full display. They will also be unsurprised that he pulls no punches. Harriot makes his central thesis clear early on: Read more
Smithsonian’s Latino Museum Faces Political Winds Before a Brick Is Laid.
Partisan battles over America’s past, and divisions among Latinos, are affecting this new institution set to be built on the National Mall.
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Latino, slated to rise on the National Mall in Washington, is meant to give a prominent presence to the story of America’s largest minority group. But the institution has already been caught up in the broader partisan battles over American history, before a single brick has been laid. Read more
Related: Celia Cruz, first Afro Latina to be on a U.S. quarter is remembered. By
Black Music Sunday: Let’s talk about ‘articulate’ and the caucacity of Jann Wenner. By Denise Oliver Velez / Daily Kos
Sister Rosetta Tharpe, 1915-1973
Controversy has swirled around Jann Wenner, founder of Rolling Stone magazine and cofounder of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, since The New York Times published an interview with him on Sept. 15. The focus: His stunningly offensive defense of the choice to include only white male rock and rollers in his latest book, “Masters.” (Do you hear “Massas?”) Read more
Sports
Colorado revealed itself and Oregon was all too happy to show the nation. Is anyone surprised? By Jim Trotter / The Athletic
It was as bad a beating as a proud man and his program could imagine.
The Buffaloes are not an elite team. Never have been. They are a good team with a few elite playmakers and solid staff. That combination traditionally equates to winning the games you are supposed to win while pulling off an upset here and there. That is what the Buffaloes have done to this point. Read more
Michael Jordan’s ultra-private, ultra-exclusive personal golf course: The Grove XXIII. By John Bantock / CNN
The Grove XXIII – a nod to his signature No. 23 jersey — is Jordan’s very own golf paradise, a private club tucked away on the outskirts of Hobe Sound, Florida. Ultra-exclusive, few have seen it, and even fewer have played it.
Jordan wanted firm and fast, a course that could both excite and challenge its members, many of whom would be among the PGA Tour’s current stars. A double-helix layout, with a “crossover” at the 5th and 14th holes, offers the flexibility to play continual internal circuits in three, six, or nine-hole loops – ideal for Jordan’s busy schedule. Read more
Mother of Two, Serena Williams, Suffers From Absurd Lack of Motivation as Retirement Life Throws Fresh and Unexpected Challenge. By Vatsal Shah / Essentially Sports
It has been quite a happening time for former WTA Queen, Serena Williams. Despite calling an end to her tennis career last year, the American legend has been involved in several off-court activities and managing her business ventures.
Recently, she welcomed her second child, Adira. Serena and her husband, Alexis Ohanian, broke out this news via an adorable post on social media. However, weeks after giving birth to her second daughter, Serena had some not-so-ideal news to share. During her pregnancy, the 23-time Grand Slam champion performed different kinds of workouts. But now, finding the motivation to complete them has been difficult. Read more
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