Feature – A new authoritarian axis demands an international progressive front.  There is a global struggle taking place of enormous consequence. Nothing less than the future of the planet – economically, socially and environmentally – is at stake. It should be clear by now that Donald Trump and the rightwing movement that supports him is not a phenomenon unique to the United States. All around the world, in Europe, in Russia, in the Middle East, in Asia and elsewhere we are seeing movements led by demagogues who exploit people’s fears, prejudices and grievances to achieve and hold on to power. Bernie Sanders / The Guardian Read more 

Thomas, Kavanaugh and Race. There’s one distinct difference between the Clarence Thomas hearings and the Brett Kavanaugh hearings. Indeed, many people have drawn attention to the numerous parallels between the two cases, but I would like to draw attention to one difference, one that could bode well for Ford: the absence of a racial element in a heated racial environment. Charles Blow / NYT Read more 
How South Asian Americans Are Building a New American Dream. They’re expanding on the success of their immigrant parents, creating a blended cultural identity – and turning the tables on old stereotypes. Yudhijit Bhattacharjee / National Geographic Read more 

Happy birthday, Serena: I’m proud that you spoke up. NAACP Legal Defense Fund study shows black girls are disproportionately punished for being ‘disrespectful.’ Overall, this data tells us that adults are less likely to extend to black girls the empathy that other students receive and more likely to respond to minor misbehavior with punishment. Cara McClellan / The Undefeated Read more 
The power of 4 Black women, and How Obama told them race didn’t matter. When asked what his race strategy would be, Obama demurred. “Oh, race won’t be an issue. America is past that,” he said, according to an OZY exclusive excerpt from For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Politics, co-authored by Donna Brazile, Minyon Moore, Yolanda Caraway, and Leah Daughtry, all African-American women and trendsetting deans of Democratic politics. Nick Fouriezos / Ozy Read more

Minor Damage: The Criminal Injustice of Black Youth Tried As Adults. A new report from the National Association of Social Workers highlights the enduring inequities in America’s criminal justice system, specifically the fact that black children and children of color are routinely tried, sentenced and incarcerated as adults, often as young as 14 years old. Michael Harriot / The Root Read more 

White supremacists threaten violence at a Stacey Abrams campaign event. Where’s the media outrage? Apparently the media is outraged when Nazis kill people in Charlottesville but not when they threaten the first black female candidate for governor in Georgia. No one thought that Stacey Abrams would have it easy. A single, black woman running as a Democrat for governor in Georgia, she was bound to encounter the kind of old school racism that we associate with the American South. Kelly Macias / Daily Kos Read more 

Sociologists Blow Up the Myth that Uneducated White Voters Support Trump Because of Economic Anxiety: ‘They Share His Prejudices.’ These values, beliefs, and behaviors interact with one another. New research by University of Kansas sociologists David Smith and Eric Hanley demonstrates how a socially combustible mix of racism and sexism, in combination with anger and bullying, put the United States on a path to authoritarianism. Chauncey DeVega / Salon  Read more 

The Va. fort that launched self-emancipating black heroes deserves better. Harvard University’s Henry Louis Gates Jr. says that was when three black heroes — Frank Baker, Shepard Mallory and James Townsend — forced “the beginning of the end of slavery.” By slipping away from Confederate forces they had been forced to assist and seeking sanctuary at the fort, Gates wrote, they “unofficially ignited” the self-emancipation movement that transformed the Civil War into a struggle for freedom. Steven Corneliussen / Wash Post Read more 

How Black Activists Changed Disney’s Mind About Princess Tiana’s Skin in ‘Wreck It Ralph 2.’ “The newest iteration of Tiana seems to have traded in her dark skin and more African features for a seemingly more caramel hue and prototypical Pixar snub nose, complete with a mane of 3c curls.” The internet didn’t take kindly to Disney tweaking Tiana’s appearance, underscoring that the shift toward more Eurocentric features and a lighter skin tone reinforced colorism and racist beauty standards. Amy Zimmerman / The Daily Beast Read more 

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