#272: Sociology’s Race Problem

We’ve reached December, loyal readers, in this very wild year. I’m feeling the crunch as we close out the semester, but amid all the stress, in less-than-ideal circumstances, I’m reminded how grateful I am to have this reading community. Every week, you help me pause, find some good articles, read closely, and reflect. Thank you.

I’m a big fan of all four pieces this week, and I like that they come from a variety of publications. This week’s lead article, “Sociology’s Race Problem,” challenged my praise for Matthew Desmond’s Evicted and other works of ethnography. The rest of today’s issue offers a powerful example of resistance, an inspirational interview directed at educators, and another critique of reading-a-lot-but-not-doing-very-much. Please enjoy!

+ There are only two free tickets left to next Thursday’s First Annual Highlighter Game Show. Get ready for friendly competition, keen strategy, and general merriment (plus tons of prizes!). It’s going to be a great way to connect and build our reading community.

Sociology’s Race Problem

Robyn Autry: “Sociology should matter now more than ever. Yet it disappoints, because it doesn’t know its others very well. I should know, because I am Black, and I’m a sociologist who has had (mostly white) professors and colleagues attempt to teach me about being Black since I was first an undergraduate. It’s an odd position to be in: to find myself the object that my peers make a living off examining.”

In this outstanding essay, Prof. Autry takes the common criticism of the stereotypical white savior academic and extends her critique to include the entire discipline of sociology. She writes, “The white savior supports brutal policies in the morning, founds charities in the afternoon, and receives awards in the evening.” Affirming historian Saidiya Hartman’s analysis of social scientists as “near-vampires” who “feed on the lifeblood of the ghetto, long for it and loathe it,” Prof. Autry argues that ethnography in particular, in its attempt to legitimize its existence, ends up perpetuating the status quo, rather than unpacking or dismantling it. (18 min)

+ What did you think of this article? Let’s continue to build ways to share and connect. Do you see the bubble below? Click on it, scroll down to the bottom, and share your reactions.

The Memory Weavers

In Mexico, where femicide continues at alarming rates, women resist the government’s apathy by embroidering white handkerchiefs with the names and stories of the slain. “The needle goes in and out of the cloth, like inhaling and exhaling,” says Minerva Valenzuela, an activist with Bordamos Feminicidios. “I think about the physical space that the words occupy on the cloth. The breath that was ripped from a woman in a matter of seconds becomes material, something we can feel with our fingers.” By embroidering with purple thread, the color of the jacaranda, women connect their craft to the centuries-long legacy of women-led protest in Mexico. (20 min)

Called To Lead: Linda Cliatt-Wayman

If you’re an educator, I can predict: You’re tired. This distance learning situation is not great. You’re close to done. And you might need some inspiration, a pep talk, a pick-me-up to propel you into Winter Break. The other night, I was feeling something similar, and listening to Linda Cliatt-Wayman gave me energy and snapped me back to my purpose. Interviewed by instructional coach Elena Aguilar on the Bright Morning Podcast, Ms. Wayman makes clear the importance of centering students, especially when the work gets challenging. (71 min)

+ If you prefer video, check out Ms. Wayman’s 2015 TED Talk, ”Lead Fearlessly, Love Hard.” (17 min)

White Feminism, Anti-Racist Reading Lists, And White Women’s Voting Habits

Katherine D. Morgan: “In a 2016 article, Tamara Winfrey-Harris wrote that ‘mainstream white feminists consistently make the fatal mistake of presuming that their motivations are stimulating to every woman,’ and she’s not wrong. At the end of the day, buttons sporting ‘Nasty Women’ or ‘Wild Feminist’ come off. So do shirts. Even the kind of white women who don feminist merch may not be feminists at all; they might find comfort in the access that their whiteness grants them, and they might be the type of white feminist who fails women of color time and time again to maintain that power.” (7 min)

Thank you for reading this week’s issue of The Highlighter. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you thought about today’s issue by hitting reply or by clicking on the thumbs below.

Also, let’s welcome our reading community’s three new subscribers, including Bonnie and Maria. I hope that you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. Also, thank you, loyal reader Gena, for spreading the cheer.

If you like The Highlighter, please help it grow. I appreciate your support! Here are a few ways you can help:

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#271: The Promise

Yes, The Highlighter comes out on Thanksgiving! Hope yours is going well so far. If you’re spending time with family, whether safely in person or from afar, feel free to prattle on about the newsletter and sing its praises. Then when you’re ready, whisk yourself away to an undisclosed location for a relaxing reading session, complete with a tasty beverage and one (or four) of this week’s outstanding articles. Sound like a plan?

You’ll want to check out today’s lead article, “The Promise That Tested My Parents Until The End,” a son’s tribute to his parents — and a story of love and heartbreak. Then take some time for your emotions, or to reconnect with your loved ones, before sinking into articles that explore the latest college predatory lending scheme, the power of racist language, and the difference between transracial and transgender identity. Please enjoy!

+ Last Sunday at Article Club, poet Hafizah Geter joined us for our discussion of her stunning “Theater of Forgiveness.” She even stayed afterward to answer questions. If you want more reading and connection in your life, check it out!

+ Please reach out and say hi. You can hit reply, record a short voice message, or compose a kind testimonial. Thank you!

The Promise That Tested My Parents

In this tender essay, author Christopher Solomon explores the love his parents had for each other, a devotion that included their promise never to put the other in a nursing home, which they considered horribly sad places. When Christopher’s dad was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, however, and his dementia progressed, Christopher’s mom endured years of suffering as his caretaker, feeling stuck in a promise she no longer could keep.

This is a sad story. But it’s a beautiful one, too, because of Mr. Solomon’s sentimental, vulnerable writing about love. He writes, “The way I feel about love is the way I feel standing before the ocean. Its vastness frightens me — to give yourself over to something so large, so borderless, so beautiful, so brutal. If you are lucky, you will have someone for whom you will want to do whatever it takes, and without question, until the very end.” (18 min)

+ Did this piece resonate with you? If so, let’s try something new. Do you see the bubble below? Click on it, scroll down to the bottom, and type a quick thought about how this article made you feel. My hope here is to give us a space to share and connect.

The New Indentured Servitude: College Income Share Agreements

With student debt at $1.6 trillion and growing, it’s no wonder that students are skipping loans and looking for better solutions to pay for college. Unfortunately, income share agreements, where you pay no tuition now in exchange for a percentage of your post-grad salary later, have emerged as the newest predatory lending scheme. Didn’t graduate? Too bad: You have to pay up anyway. What’s worse is that, to fund your education, colleges seek out investors that gamble on you and your future earning potential. Critics call this the New Indentured Servitude, and you know what? They’re right. (29 min)

+ Check out my annotations on a print version of the article. They don’t call me The Highlighter for nothing! 😀

Superpredator: The Media Myth That Demonized A Generation of Black Youth

Language matters. In an interview 25 years ago, white professor John Dilulio coined the term “superpredator” to describe a new threat: “a young, juvenile criminal, who is so impulsive, so remorseless, that he can kill, rape, maim without giving it a second thought.” The new threat didn’t exist; crime plummeted in the 1990s. Still, both conservative and liberal media spread the term, connecting crime with Blackness, deepening already prevalent racist beliefs and furthering racist policies. In 2001, Prof. Dilulio apologized for “any unintended consequences” his false theory had caused. (10 min)

+ Do you remember when Hillary Clinton used the term?

Why We Shouldn’t Compare Transracial to Transgender Identity

Five years ago, Caitlyn Jenner came out as her authentic self and demanded recognition as a woman. That same month, Rachel Dolezal announced that she self-identified as Black despite having no Black ancestry. In this piece, Robin Dembroff and Dee Payton argue that even though both gender and race classifications are malleable, being Black carries “intergenerationally inherited inequalities” and is “a matter of how your community and ancestors have been treated by other people, institutions, and governments.” Transracial identification (most recently, Jessica Krug) therefore undermines our ability to reckon with historical injustice. (21 min)

+ In case you want more: Ijeoma Oluo excoriates Ms. Dolezal in this classic Highlighter article from 2017.

And with that, this week’s issue of The Highlighter comes unfortunately to an end. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you thought about today’s issue by hitting reply or by clicking on the thumbs below. Or leave a voice message, like loyal reader Blevins! I’m grateful for your feedback.

Also, let’s welcome our reading community’s three new subscribers: Angie, Toronzo, and Laurie. I hope that you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. Also, thank you, loyal readers Telannia and Elise, for spreading the cheer.

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#270: Language Keepers

Happy Thursday, loyal readers, and thank you very much for opening up today’s issue of The Highlighter. I’ve officially declared myself exhausted after eight-plus months of mostly-quarantine. Are you? Whenever I slide into a very mild bout of despair, though, I remind myself to express gratitude: to my family, friends, and this reading community. As we head into Thanksgiving week, my hope is that you are safe and taking good care of yourselves.

Now let’s get to this week’s articles, shall we? This week’s issue starts strong with “Language Keepers,” a comprehensive six-part multimedia series that explores the commitment of Indigenous peoples in California to promote their languages and culture, despite hundreds of years of colonization. Then comes “Dirty Kitchen,” which extends the theme, focusing on the family recipes of a Filipina woman as she tries to maintain her Indigenous roots. After the photo break, I’ve included two pieces that challenge or add nuance to narratives about police defunding and Christian evangelicalism. Please enjoy, and thank you for reading!

+ Please reach out and say hi. You can hit reply, email me, record a short voice message, or compose a kind testimonial. Thank you!

To commemorate Indigenous Peoples’ Heritage Month, Emergence Magazine dedicated this six-part multimedia experience to share the stories of four Indigenous communities in California that are working to revitalize their languages before it’s too late. It is outstanding. My favorite chapter, “Wukchumni,” tells the story of Marie Wilcox, 85, the last speaker of the language, who has devoted the past 20 years to compile a dictionary to preserve Wukchumni for future generations. (45 min)

+ Social studies teachers in California, you could plan a mini-unit on this inquiry-based resource. Let me know if you want to brainstorm together.

Dirty Kitchen

With delicious tinola and sisig recipes serving as her foundation, Filipina writer and filmmaker Jill Damatac explores her Indigenous roots, the centrality of family, and the effects of colonization in this beautiful essay. Though she writes lovingly about her Lola Rosing, the malunggay tree, and the dirty kitchen where the real cooking happened, Ms. Damatac also acknowledges the loneliness and loss of culture she’s experienced through war and immigration. She writes, “We transform to survive, but we still bear the boiled, charred, gristled remnants of our past. I will continue to exist in a hungry space between longing and belonging, for my body, exported from its country of birth, deported from its country of growth, now has only sense and memory to call home.” (18 min)

Oakland Pledged To Cut Its Police Budget In Half. Then Homicides Surged.

Like Minneapolis, Oakland wants to defund its police department but faces challenges figuring out how to implement its vision. One major problem is that the majority of Black and Latinx people in East Oakland want more police officers, especially given the city’s recent spate of murders and its distrust of white leadership. John Jones III, who lives in the Fruitvale neighborhood, says he feels queasy seeing the “100 new white folks” arguing that police are “harmful to Black and Brown people.” (14 min)

+ But I also got a vibe this reporter is biased. You?

The Real Origins Of The Religious Right

Like many people, I used to think that evangelical Christians, when they coalesced as the Moral Majority, emerged as a conservative political group shortly after Roe v. Wade, in order to protest abortion. Not so, argues historian Randall Balmer, who follows the evidence that shows Jerry Falwell and other leaders cared much more about maintaining segregated schools and white supremacy. (12 min)

+ Thank you to VIP Peter for sharing this article. If you’ve read something great, recommend it!

Thank you very much for reading The Highlighter this week! I appreciate it. Let me know what you thought about today’s issue by hitting reply or by clicking on the thumbs below. I’m grateful for your feedback.

Also, let’s welcome our reading community’s five new subscribers: Emily, Kiini, Leah, Nathalie, and Karen. I hope that you find this newsletter a solid addition to your Thursday email inbox. Also, VIP Dave says hello to everyone and wishes you a great weekend.

If you really like The Highlighter, please help it grow and get better. I appreciate your support. Here are a few ways you can help:

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• Take the leap, bask in the glory, and become a VIP member

On the other hand, if this newsletter is cluttering your inbox, please unsubscribe. See you for Thanksgiving next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!

#269: Things Ain’t Always Gone Be This Way

Do you remember who taught you about the importance of voting? If you’re able to vote, do you remember the first time you did? Those questions guided me this week as I searched for articles and podcast episodes worthy of your time and attention. Today’s lead article, “Things Ain’t Always Gone Be This Way,” reminds us of the power of voting not only to bring change but also to build familial relationships and to honor one’s ancestors over generations. The ending in particular is moving.

The other three pieces also center on voting and the strengthening of Black power, especially in the South. First up is Stacey Abrams, a powerhouse, whom I’d gladly listen to for hours on end. (I gave you 33 minutes.) Then comes the long and triumphant story of Mississippi voters and their decision to replace their state flag, followed by a digest of outstanding organizations in the South, led predominately by Black women, that are challenging white supremacy at the local level. Please enjoy!

+ There’s still time to join our Article Club discussion this month of “Theater of Forgiveness,” by Hafizah Geter. Loyal reader Sarai Bordeaux will co-facilitate our conversation next Sunday, Nov. 22, 2-3 pm PT. I’m looking forward to it! Find out more information, or if you already know you’re in, sign up here.

+ New to The Highlighter? Hit reply and say hi! (If you’ve been reading since 2015, that’s great, too. 😀 )

Things Ain’t Always Gone Be This Way

Honorée Fanonne Jeffers: “Voting wasn’t just about rights, Mama told me. It was about the fact that we needed to honor the Black folks who had come before us, the ones who weren’t here anymore. On voting Tuesday that year, Mama picked me up after school and drove us to the polls. She told me she had a very important job for me to do. She explained that I would take the hand of each old, Black person she would send my way. These would be people who couldn’t read. They knew the candidates they wanted to vote for, but because they couldn’t recognize the names on the ballot, they needed me to call out all the names for them, and then, they’d tell me which of those names they wanted to vote for.

I don’t know how many old Black folks I helped at the polls, only that when I stood in the booth with them, I did what my mother had asked. I called out the names, and they’d tell me who they wanted to vote for. Then, very carefully, I put my finger by each name they’d chosen. I watched as they filled out the ballot. And I’d beam as each old person heaped praise on me, telling me how smart I was, how sweet. What a good little girl my mother had raised me to be.” (15 min)

Stacey Abrams On Voting Rights

Want a masterclass on voting rights? Look no further than Stacey Abrams, who in this podcast episode with Ezra Klein delivers extemporaneous genius on the 15th, 19th, and 26th amendments; the Voting Rights Act and Shelby County; Amendment 4 and HR 4, voter suppression and voter registration; and Fair Fight and Fair Count. In this transcribed interview, recorded the day before the election, Ms. Abrams extols the virtues of hard work and makes clear the significant hurdles that remain before all Americans gain access to the franchise. (33 min)

+ Want more Stacey? She appeared in Issue #256. Maybe she’ll do Article Club someday?

The Flag And The Fury

Last Tuesday, Mississippi voters replaced their existing Confederate-themed state flag with a new design, featuring a magnolia bloom. This episode of Radiolab tells the story of how Mississippi finally chose to take down its racist banner after 126 years, beginning in 1982, when John Hawkins, the first Black cheerleader at Ole Miss, refused to carry the flag at a football game. Over the next 38 years, the debate raged in familiar ways, until finally shifting with the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter demonstrations this summer. (76 min)

+ Note: Some audio is particularly disturbing.

How To Support Black Power

By now we all know about Stacey Abrams and her commitment to expanding civil rights in Georgia. But this helpful resource, compiled by Scalawag Magazine, will introduce you to 17 local organizations in the South — led by Black women, queer and trans people, and young people — dedicated to fight white supremacy and to build independent Black power from the ground up. Learning about these groups offered me hope and the motivation to get involved. (12 min)

+ Want to talk more about these organizations? Let me know.

scalawagmagazine.org

Thank you very much for reading (and listening to) The Highlighter this week! I appreciate it. Let me know what you thought about today’s issue by hitting reply or by clicking on the thumbs below. I’m grateful for your feedback.

Also, let’s welcome our reading community’s new subscriber Jen. I hope that you find this newsletter a solid addition to your Thursday email inbox. (Big thanks to VIP Jessica for the good word!)

If you really like The Highlighter, please help it grow and get better. I appreciate your support. Here are a few ways you can help:

• Send today’s issue to a friend and encourage them to subscribe

• Keep me happy and caffeinated by buying me a coffee

• Become a VIP member, like Jen, and bask in glory

On the other hand, if this newsletter is cluttering your inbox, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!

#268: 4 Things For Right Now

Loyal readers, I hope you are taking good care of yourself as our divided country awaits the result of our presidential election. It is a stressful, anxious time. Please reach out if you want to talk.

Some of you might be hankering for articles with perspectives on the election, and others might prefer the exact opposite. Though I’m sure thoughtful articles will emerge soon enough (as they did four years ago), this week, I’ve decided to try something different. Rather than sharing the usual fare of outstanding articles on race, education, and culture, I’m offering resources and organizations for you to check out instead. They’re good, solid projects involving good people. (You’re already part of one of them!) These resources are meant to inspire you to do something with the emotions that you’re possibly feeling, rather than spending your days and nights doomscrolling. I hope you find at least one of them valuable — and if you do, please let me know! I’d love to hear more.

Before you jump in: I’d like to appreciate loyal readers Trevor, Allison, Erin, Sage, and Lynn for reaching 200 issues. I’m grateful for your readership and your efforts to encourage other thoughtful people to try on this newsletter. Thank you!

Listen For A Change

If we listen more deeply to the stories of our most marginalized, we have the ability to transform ourselves and our communities. That’s the premise of Listen for a Change, which aims to break the cycle of discrimination by empowering voices through personal storytelling. Founded by loyal reader Thai Chu, the organization puts on storytelling events, conducts workshops on Instagram, and coaches high school students to celebrate their lived experiences and discover how best to tell their story.

Black Futures Lab

Built from the foundation that Black people are brilliant and diverse, the Black Futures Lab believes that imagination, innovation, and investment can resolve the challenges facing Black communities. Its Black Census Project, the largest survey of Black people conducted since Reconstruction, offers rich data to challenge policymakers. The Shirley Chisholm “Unbought and Unbossed” Black Politics Project organizes and mobilizes Black voters and promotes the newest generation of Black progressive political candidates. If you want to learn more, start with “Black to the Ballot,” which calls for an expansion of vote-by-mail.

+ Thank you to longtime loyal reader Ben for sharing this with me.

Barnraisers Project: White People Organizing Against White Supremacy

Many white people join groups for social justice that focus on reading (and little doing) or hanging out with like-minded white people in a competition of who’s wokest. The Barnraisers Project, founded by Milwaukee native Garrett Bucks, trains white people to build relationships and coalitions in order to move their white family, friends, and community from denial to defensiveness to action. Why? “To be blunt,” Mr. Bucks writes, “because it is white people’s unwillingness to change our mindsets, beliefs and actions that keep our country from living up to its aspirations.” Otherwise, “we’re going to stay stuck in a pattern of symbolic victories and reactionary backlash.”

The Highlighter Article Club

Even though I sometimes joke about reading clubs (see above), I believe strongly that reading can be transformative, especially with the right text, the right people, and the right emphasis on building connections. That’s what Article Club is about. Join us this month to read, annotate, and discuss Hafizah Geter’s “Theater of Forgiveness,” one of the most powerful articles ever to appear in this newsletter. The piece explores the personal and cultural legacy of violence against Black bodies. I’m honored to collaborate with loyal reader Sarai Bordeaux to interview Ms. Geter and to facilitate our conversation.

+ Here’s the fastest way to sign up for the discussion.

There’s a lot going on, so thank you for reading The Highlighter this week! I appreciate it. Let me know what you thought about today’s issue by hitting reply or by clicking on the thumbs below. I’m grateful for your feedback.

Also, let’s welcome our reading community’s new subscriber MG. I hope that you find this newsletter a solid addition to your Thursday email inbox.

If you really like The Highlighter, please help it grow and get better. I appreciate your support. Here are a few ways you can help:

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On the other hand, if this newsletter is cluttering your inbox, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!

#267: America In Line

This time next week, loyal readers, we will have had the election, and who knows, maybe we’ll even know our next president. This week’s lead article, “America In Line,” captures the enthusiasm and anxiety of the moment, with interviews of Americans in six states ready to cast their votes. If you’re practicing a no-election-news pledge in order to save your sanity, like many of my friends, fast scroll down to “Mama’s Babies,” a heartwarming short film. Then take in this week’s pet photo before enjoying two pieces featuring the powers of our mind and the delights of this fall season.

+ I’m very proud of the reading community we’re building over at Article Club, where we read, annotate, and discuss one great article every month. We just concluded our 10th article, focusing on “Miranda’s Rebellion,” by Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Stephanie McCrummen, who generously answered our questions in a podcast episode. If you’re interested in deepening your reading experience with other kind, thoughtful people, please let me know, and I’ll share with you the details and a sneak peek of November’s selection.

America In Line

More than 75 million Americans have already voted, a huge increase from the last presidential election. While many of us have chosen to mail or drop off our ballots, the voters featured in this article — from Houston, Albuquerque, Chattanooga, Sarasota, Atlanta and Columbus — opted for the old-fashioned route of waiting in line.

To pass the time, they listened to podcasts, texted their friends, scrolled through Twitter, read the newspaper, and if they were advanced, brought multiple phones, for battery’s sake. In Houston, Goya Escalante said she “wanted the satisfaction” of voting in person. “I want to feel America.” In Albuquerque, 18-year-old Alfred Achusim voted for the first time and said, “It’s a duty. It’s a privilege.” (20 min)

+ U.S. Government teachers, this article might be perfect weekend reading for your students. It does a good job exploring the diverse beliefs and experiences of Americans from key swing states.

Mama’s Babies

In this touching tribute, filmmaker Adrian Burrell tells the story of his 94-year-old grandmother, the “Queen of San Pablo,” who has lived in West Oakland since 1945, ever since migrating from Jim Crow Louisiana. Despite the losses of gentrification and the gravity of white supremacy, Grandma does not dwell on the negative. Rather, she focuses on family and on the joys of her 16 children, 58 grandchildren, 112 great-grandchildren, and 158 great-great-grandchildren. Mr. Burrell says, “Long after I’m gone, and even longer after my grandma, our people are going to have something to look back on.” (11 min)

+ This weekend, call your mom, dad, aunt, uncle, or grandparent, and ask them to tell you a story.

Shut Up, I’m Manifesting!

A long time ago, I was going through a rough patch, and a good friend reminded me that the only reality we experience is the one we create with our thoughts. Hogwash, I thought. But apparently, the process of manifesting has taken hold, especially among young people, who maintain that if you practice positive thinking and script your dreams, your crush will text you back, or you’ll land a great job, or Lorde will drop a new album. (Bonus points if you manifest on TikTok.) Don’t mind the research that says that reaching your goals takes effort. (14 min)

How America Invented The White Woman Who Just Loves Fall

Nobody knows whether kids will trick or treat this weekend or if families will convene for Thanksgiving, but once thing’s for sure: Fall is upon us, and that means white women will enjoy their pumpkin spice. In this playful-yet-serious article, Hazel Cillis connects the dots of this phenomenon all the way back to New England, to the myth of Thanksgiving, the role of 19th-century influencer Sara Josepha Hale, the rise of domesticity and agritourism, and later contributions by Martha Stewart and the romanticism of Gilmore Girls. You don’t like cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves just because. (14 min)

You’ve reached the end of this week’s issue. Thank you for reading The Highlighter. Please congratulate yourself for getting some good reading done. Let me know what you thought about today’s issue by hitting reply or by clicking on the thumbs below. I’m grateful for your feedback.

Also, let’s welcome our community’s 7 new members, including Yudy, Gage, Shining, Emma, Fish, and Helene. I hope that you find this newsletter a solid addition to your Thursday email inbox. (Sivan, Martha, and Camille: Thank you for getting the word out!)

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#266: How The 1619 Project Took Over 2020

Happy Thursday! Thank you, loyal readers new and old, for opening today’s issue of the Highlighter. One tidbit about this newsletter is that each week starts fresh, which means I typically don’t save articles for future issues. If a piece doesn’t make the cut, that’s too bad. In general, I like this approach, because there’s an immediacy to the process, but the downside is that some weeks teem with outstanding articles, while other weeks leave me scrounging for days for pieces worthy of your time.

That’s all to say that I’m happy to report that high-quality writing was in abundance this week. I’m confident that you’ll appreciate all four pieces. Today’s lead article offers a measured account of The 1619 Project, its contributions to our culture, and the outcry that followed its publication last August. If historiography isn’t your thing, take in an inspiring profile of Angela Davis and a stimulating interview of Isabel Wilkerson. Both pieces will help center you. If they don’t, you can always resort to making yourself an elaborate paper planner, which promises to allay your anxiety. Please enjoy!

How The 1619 Project Took Over 2020

Last August, the night before The New York Times published The 1619 Project, Nikole Hannah-Jones asked, “What if I told you that the year 1619 is as important to the American story as the year 1776?” This provocative question framed a masterwork of journalism that won her a Pulitzer Prize and earned accolades from many teachers eager to have their students reconsider the prevailing narrative of our nation’s founding.

But the project also has faced a major backlash, first from a small group of prominent historians, who revealed an historical inaccuracy in the original text, then from a libertarian journalist, who frolicked in a Twitter tug of war with Ms. Hannah-Jones, and finally from our current President, who claims, basically, that students who learn about slavery will learn to hate America.

In case you haven’t been following this culture war blow by blow, this succinct article by Sarah Ellison does an outstanding job summarizing the controversy and explaining the significance of the debate. (20 min)

+ Teachers: I’d love to hear how you used The 1619 Project with your students this year.

The Greats: Angela Davis Still Believes America Can Change

Angela Davis: “The real criminals in this society are not all of the people who populate the prisons across the state, but those who have stolen the wealth of the world from the people. The elephant in the room is always capitalism. Even when we fail to have an explicit conversation about capitalism, it is the driving force of so much when we talk about racism. Capitalism has always been racial capitalism. The abolitionist imagination delinks us from that which is. It allows us to imagine other ways of addressing issues of safety and security. Most of us have assumed in the past that when it comes to public safety, the police are the ones who are in charge. When it comes to issues of harm in the community, prisons are the answer. But what if we imagined different modes of addressing harm, different modes of addressing security and safety?” (26 min)

+ Please ask me about the time Prof. Davis and I had an intimate conversation on the streets of San Francisco.

The Caste System In America: Isabel Wilkerson On Armchair Expert

The first Black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize, Isabel Wilkerson developed her thesis that American institutional racism is a rigid, inexorable caste system in the 15 years she conducted research for The Warmth of Other Suns, her classic book on the Great Migration. In this interview with Dax Shepard, Prof. Wilkerson is equally warm, thoughtful, and incisive, explaining in plain terms how our caste system grants or withholds status and privileges, assigned at birth, based on a person’s perceived rank in the hierarchy. If you haven’t read Caste yet, this conversation might get you over the hump. (68 min)

+ If you don’t have time right now to read another book, check out an excerpt, featured in Issue #250.

In A World Gone Mad, Paper Planners Offer Order And Delight

Are these chaotic times making your brain hurt? If so, you may want to log off your Google Calendar and get yourself an old-fashioned paper planner to regain your sanity and spur your creativity. You’ll join a community of millions of (mostly white) women who will help you block your time, meet your goals, and build colorful spreads (with or without stickers). But as Quinci LeGardye warns, don’t get too caught up or else you’ll fall down the Plan With Me rabbit hole, worry about how your hands look on video, analyze the racial inequities in the community, and spend way too much at The Happy Planner. (20 min)

+ Reader Annotations: Last week’s crowdsourced Padlet, “An Anonymous Teacher Speaks,” in which teachers complained of “toxic positivity,” struck a chord. A teacher who wished to remain anonymous wrote:

I want to get lost in the negativity. I don’t like that about myself. My coach and one of the school leaders love to say we can do hard things — and if anyone can do this, it’s us. What if we can’t? Or what if we are trying but it’s bad?

Thank you very much for sharing your thoughts. Loyal readers, if one of today’s articles resonated with you, please hit reply and tell me what you think. That’s what makes this reading community a strong one. Plus I’d appreciate it!

Unfortunately, all good things must come to end. Thank you for reading The Highlighter. Please congratulate yourself for getting some good reading done. Let me know what you thought about today’s issue by hitting reply or by clicking on the thumbs below. I’m grateful for your feedback.

Also, let’s welcome our community’s 3 new members Darren, Desiree, and Paul. (Thank you, Susan and Lynette, for getting the word out!) I hope that you find this newsletter a solid addition to your Thursday email inbox.

If you really like The Highlighter, please help it grow and get better. I appreciate your support. Here are a few ways you can help:

• Send today’s issue to a friend and encourage them to subscribe

• Buy me a cookie so my sugar levels stay high enough to read

• Formalize your support and join Darren and Maker as a VIP

On the other hand, if this newsletter is cluttering your inbox, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!

#265: The Store That Called The Cops On George Floyd

Happy Thursday, loyal readers! Because of all your support, this newsletter keeps coming out week after week. Today’s issue did not come easily, but I’m happy that I kept looking for pieces worthy of your time and attention. I’m confident you’ll appreciate the lead article, which offers a different and important perspective of the killing of George Floyd. If you’re an educator, you’ll likely want to dive into (or avoid altogether) the second piece. Then after the fold, in typical Highlighter eclectic fashion, you’ll find a thoughtful article on the meaning of the mustache, followed by a stern warning on the danger of the grapefruit. Please enjoy!

+It’s been since June since we met up, so please join me next Thursday, October 22, for Highlighter Happy Hour #15. We’ll meet 5:30 - 6:30 pm PT on Zoom, connect with other thoughtful members of our reading community, and (maybe) talk about the lead article. Bring a beverage of your choice and participate in general merriment. All you need to do is hit reply and say, “I’m in!” Everyone is welcome and encouraged to swing by.

The Store That Called the Cops on George Floyd

On Memorial Day, a police officer killed George Floyd outside the CUP Foods at the corner of 38th Street and Chicago Avenue in southern Minneapolis.

This is the story of Malik, the 18-year-old clerk at the convenience store who called the cops that evening, accusing Mr. Floyd of passing a counterfeit bill. This is the story of co-owner Mahmoud Abumayyaleh, who closed the shop after receiving death threats and later commissioned a mural to honor Mr. Floyd. This is the story of English teacher Marcia Howard, the corner’s “community liaison for security,” whose GoPro, walkie-talkie, and eagle-eyed vision protect the store from vandalism and arson. And this is the story of Carmen Means, who believes CUP Foods played “a meaningful role in the lynching of George Floyd” and therefore should never reopen.

In this well-written piece, Aymann Ismail reports on the aftermath of Mr. Floyd’s killing from a variety of viewpoints, exploring the role of the community in reckoning with the tragedy. (27 min)

An Anonymous Teacher Speaks

Being a teacher is not easy. That’s definitely true this year, with distance learning, incessant Zoom calls, students with their cameras off, and no end in sight. What to do? Educator shea martin invited teachers to vent, posting their grievances on a shared Padlet. Emotions run hot. Teachers feel overwhelmed, under-appreciated, not valued and not seen, angry at school leaders and administrators, and frustrated with “toxic positivity.” Example: “If I hear ‘You can do hard things!’ one more time, I’m going to come unglued.” (20 min)

+ What are your thoughts after reading these posts?

My Mustache, My Self

Wesley Morris: “I knew before the summer’s Black Lives Matter protests that my mustache made me look like a bougie race man: a professional, seemingly humorless middle-class Negro. I live a street over from a thoroughfare where the protests happened almost nightly in June and July. One evening, I stood at a corner, moved, as thousands of people passed. Some protesters had their fists raised in a Black-power salute. So I raised mine. Not a gesture I would normally make. The Black-power salute is not a casual gesture. It’s weaponry. And that didn’t feel quite right. It always seemed like more Blackness than I’ve needed, maybe more than I had. I’m not Black-power Black. I’ve always been milder, more apprehensive than that. I was practically born with a mustache.” (26 min)

Grapefruit Is One Of The Weirdest (And Most Dangerous) Fruits On The Planet

Loyal reader Marni reminded me this week that “Mark, it has been way too long since you’ve featured fruit in The Highlighter.” Never fear, the grapefruit is here. Hailing from Barbados (not Asia, like all other citrus), the grapefruit caught popularity in the 1930s after shedding its original name (the “shaddock”) and getting connected with a new fad low-calorie diet. (Yes, that one.) Too bad that ingesting grapefruit can kill us. Its furanocoumarins block our body’s cytochrome P450 enzymes, thereby causing adverse reactions with many drugs, like Xanax, Ritalin, Zoloft, Lipitor, and Tylenol. Next Sunday brunch, be safe out there! (14 min)

Thank you very much for reading yet another issue of The Highlighter. Do you have thoughts or feelings about one of the articles today? Let me know by hitting reply or by clicking on the thumbs below. I’m grateful for your feedback.

Also, let’s welcome our community’s 3 new members, including Matt and Christine. I hope that you find this newsletter a solid addition to your Thursday email inbox.

If you really like The Highlighter, please help it grow and get better. I appreciate your support. Here are a few ways you can help:

• Send today’s issue to a friend and encourage them to subscribe

• Keep my curation skills sharp by buying me a coffee

• Formalize your support and become a VIP member

On the other hand, if this newsletter is cluttering your inbox, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!

#264: Abolition For The People

Happy Thursday, loyal readers, and thank you for opening today’s issue of The Highlighter. I grew up white, suburban, and excessively rule-abiding, and for those and many other structural reasons, I’ve never had a negative encounter with the police. That’s partly why reading “Abolition For The People,” this week’s lead essay collection, was so illuminating and helpful. Edited by Colin Kaepernick, the series — which will grow to 30 essays over the course of this month — calls not just for defunding the police but dismantling the carceral state altogether. I urge you to read it, especially if it might challenge your politics and worldview.

If prisons and the police do not spark your interest, check out this week’s other excellent articles, including Victoria Blanco’s ode to her grandmother, Erica L. Green’s report on the unfair discipline of Black girls in school, and Daniel Vock’s analysis that GreatSchools has exacerbated housing segregation. Please enjoy!

+ Big thanks to loyal readers Nicki, Court, Hansa, and Wendy. You’ve reached 100 issues! Thank you for making our reading community a strong one.

Abolition For The People

This collection of outstanding articles — by Colin Kaepernick, Dr. Angela Y. Davis, Dr. Simone Browne, Dr. Mark Anthony Neal, Kiese Laymon, Dr. Stuart Schrader, Talila “TL” Lewis, and kihana miraya ross — make a simple case: that we need to abolish prisons and the police and invest in a future that emphasizes justice and the needs of the community.

Definitely read Mr. Kaepernick’s introductory essay, which argues that “defunding the police” and other reforms will serve only to preserve and entrench a system that has surveilled and terrorized Black people for too long. He writes, “Another world is possible, a world grounded in love, justice, and accountability, a world grounded in safety and good health, a world grounded in meeting the needs of the people.”

The other pieces are extremely valuable, too, and cover a range of topics. Don’t worry: There’s no “right order” if you want to read several. (~60 min)

“Las Flores Son Para Los Vivos”

Victoria Blanco: “Abuelita was 83 years old when she told us about her desire to be buried next to her family in Juárez. When she had turned 78, her rheumatoid arthritis had swelled her right leg and arm to twice their size. The abuelita of my early youth, who crushed red chiles and stirred a pot until the chile colorado became thick and auburn, who pulled baking trays from the oven filled with her enchiladas and chiles rellenos, who called my brothers and me to dinner and coaxed us to eat more, was becoming quiet and distant. Telenovelas and pills carried her through the evenings until she fell asleep. Throughout my adolescence I heard her cries of pain at night. My mom, exhausted after a full day of work, would run to her mother’s bedside to find that pain made Abuelita moan in her sleep. I became used to hearing the night cries, but my mom was the one who went to her; she spent a decade making sure that her mother remained asleep, if not free of pain.” (18 min)

Student Discipline Rates Show Black Girls Are Disproportionally At Risk

At a rate even more disproportionate than Black boys, Black girls face more frequent and harsher punishment in school than their white peers. They’re five times more likely to be suspended than white girls and three times more likely to receive referrals to law enforcement. Erica L. Green reports that “adultification bias” among white educators explains the discrepancy and shares how a new lawsuit by the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund demands legal recourse. (12 min)

+ Thank you to loyal reader Morenike for sharing this article with me.

Did GreatSchools Make Neighborhood Segregation Worse?

Educators already know that GreatSchools, which gives each public school a score based mostly on standardized tests, isn’t so great. It’s really not great when these scores are plastered on Redfin as code for school demographics. CEO Jon Deane is open to changing his company’s algorithm to be more fair but maintains that parents deserve access to information about neighborhood schools. Plus, he adds, he can’t personally prevent potential homeowners from being racist. (17 min)

+ Reader Annotations: Let’s start off with a kind word from VIP Angelina. She wrote, “With the chaos of fires, COVID, and distance learning, The Highlighter is one consistent joy in my life right now.” Thank you, Angelina! Loyal readers, if you feel similarly, go ahead, make your sentiments known.

Also, last week’s lead article, “Is Freedom White?” resonated with many readers and sparked strong reactions. Loyal reader Cindy found the piece provocative and shared this thoughtful reply:

I have often truly been perplexed by the enormous fear behind white men who think that giving me and other people who are not white the same equality and fairness is somehow going to subtract from their freedoms. It always felt like a toddler who was mad they had to share. I put it in the bucket of some deep pathetic fear that drives typical bully logic and justification to oppress. But this article really helped clarify the idea that their actual definition of freedom means exercising power over others. It was very enlightening, so thank you!

Thank you very much, Cindy, for sharing your ideas. Loyal readers, if an article moved you or got you thinking, I’d love to hear from you. All you need to do is hit reply!

Thank you very much for reading yet another issue of The Highlighter. Do you have thoughts or feelings about one of the articles today? Let me know by hitting reply or by clicking on the thumbs below. I’m grateful for your feedback.

Also, let’s welcome our community’s 3 new members: Carmen, Anoop, and Marta. (Caitlin, thank for getting the word out!) I hope that you find this newsletter a solid addition to your Thursday email inbox.

If you really like The Highlighter, please help it grow and get better. I appreciate your support. Here are a few ways you can help:

• Send today’s issue to a friend and encourage them to subscribe

• Buy me a coffee to boost my article-reading energy

• Formalize your support and become a VIP member

On the other hand, if this newsletter is cluttering your inbox, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!

#263: Is Freedom White?

Welcome to October, loyal readers! Thank you for opening today’s issue of The Highlighter. It’s a good one. Don’t worry: This week’s lead article is not clickbait; rather, it’s an outstanding essay that explains why white people feel threatened when people of color gain freedom. I recommend it highly, even if you’re not a history buff.

If you prefer less history, scroll down to read a strong argument to reopen schools, a clear justification for reparations, and a surprising connection between the wellness industry and QAnon. Please enjoy!

+ Sign up for Article Club this month and discuss “Miranda’s Rebellion,” one of our favorite articles so far this year. Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Stephanie McCrummen (who also broke the Roy Moore story) will be answering our questions. In case you want to know what you’re getting yourself into, here’s a breakdown. If you join, you’ll get your first post this Sunday.

Is Freedom White?

Americans love freedom. But we don’t agree on a common definition. There are three types of freedom, according to sociologist Orlando Patterson: personal freedom (to do as we please), civic freedom (to participate in public life), and sovereign freedom (to exercise power over others). According to Jefferson Cowie, this third type of freedom — “the unrestrained capacity to dominate” — is the most dangerous, given our country’s racism.

Prof. Cowie writes, “Freedom was used to steal land from Native Americans, defend slavery, defeat Reconstruction, justify lynching, fight the New Deal, oppose civil rights, elect Trump, and label Black Lives Matter as seditious.”

The only way for all Americans to achieve equality, Prof. Cowie argues, is for white people to stop presuming that freedom means the right to dominate everyone else. (14 min)

The Students Left Behind By Remote Learning

Shemar is 12 years old, lives in East Baltimore, loves math, and hates remote learning. That’s because his Internet is spotty, his teacher quit, and his school doesn’t have enough laptops. Most of all, though, despite the hard work and dedication of teachers and school leaders, distance learning is just not as effective as the real thing. In this nuanced article, Alec MacGinnis makes the case that public schools should reopen as soon as possible, or else children will regress in their learning so much that “it will be virtually impossible to come back.” (39 min)

The Great White Heist

Michael Harriot: “The fantasy that we call the ‘American Dream’ isn’t solely funded by decency, hard work, or American exceptionalism. It comes from theft. Punishing a thief is not justice, it is retribution. For justice to exist, the victim must be made whole and their losses must be repaid. Justice demands restitution, and until there are reparations, there can be no justice. Until there are reparations, anyone who pledges their allegiance to the flag that stands for a country with ‘liberty and justice for all’ is a liar and a thief.” (10 min)

+ California will become the first state to consider reparations for descendants of enslaved people.

Eat, Pray, Conspiracy: How the Wellness World Embraced QAnon

If you’ve read this newsletter long enough, you know that I like to follow the pros and cons of the wellness industry. You may also know about my strange fascination with right-wing movements (like QAnon). But did you ever expect these two topics to intersect? Well, with the rise of #SaveTheChildren, all of a sudden Hala Khouri and other health practitioners, who find power in questioning science and the mainstream medical industry, are realizing how yoga, supplements, vaccines, masks, and child trafficking all lead to an overarching international conspiracy theory. “We want to wake up, we want to see the truth,” Ms. Khouri says. (10 min)

Thank you very much for reading yet another issue of The Highlighter. Do you have thoughts or feelings about one of the articles today? Let me know what you thought by hitting reply or by clicking on the thumbs below. I’m grateful for your feedback.

Also, let’s welcome our community’s 6 new members: Tom, Natasha, Elias, Yassine, Samurai, and Swordsman. I hope that you find this newsletter a solid addition to your Thursday email inbox.

If you really like The Highlighter, please help it grow and get better. I appreciate your support. Here are a few ways you can help:

• Send today’s issue to a friend and encourage them to subscribe

• Buy me a coffee to boost my article-reading energy (thank you for the 6 coffees last week, Xuan-Vu and Geoff!)

• Formalize your support and become a VIP member

On the other hand, if this newsletter is cluttering your inbox, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!