#282: Black At Beaver

We’re nearing the end of February, loyal readers, and I hope that you’re keeping your energy up, getting your vaccinations, and remaining hopeful as we hit the one-year mark of this pandemic. For many of us, reading is a respite, and that’s one reason I send out this newsletter every week and am appreciative that you open it.

This week’s articles talk to each other, as they sometimes do, and I hope that you try reading a few of them. The lead article, by Anna Deavere Smith, is a brilliant memoir of her time in college and her awakening as a Black civil rights leader. The middle pieces explore two harmful ways that white people disengage from racial equity work. Rounding off today’s issue is an essay about beginner’s mindset, and though it has nothing to do with race, I found it to be a helpful reminder to stay engaged when there’s conflict. Enjoy!

+ I’d like to ask you for a favor: If you like The Highlighter, could you share it with a friend and urge them to try it out? Thank you! Nearly all of you are here because of word of mouth, so I would be very grateful if you kept the good word going.

“We Were The Last Of The Nice Negro Girls”

When Anna Deavere Smith was a high school student in Baltimore in the late-1960s, her white counselor encouraged her to attend Beaver College, a predominately white women’s school outside of Philadelphia. Beaver was “looking for nice Negro girls like Anna,” the counselor told her mother.

But in this outstanding coming-of-age piece, Ms. Deavere Smith recounts how her childhood politeness, an expectation of Jim Crow, quickly shifted in college as her political consciousness deepened. One of just seven Black students, Ms. Deavere Smith and her classmates demanded courses in Black history and the hiring of Black professors. Any remaining vestige of “niceness” disappeared with the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and the rise of Angela Davis and the Black Power Movement.

Connecting her transformation with the current moment, Ms. Deavere Smith writes, “In our current moment of division, we cannot afford to go forward without looking back. We must excavate history to assess how we learned to restore human dignity that had been ripped away by plunder and slavery. How did we get this far? Not by being nice.” (16 min)

Hangman: What One Says, And Doesn’t Say, To White Educators

In the northwestern part of Lower Michigan, where teachers play Hangman with their students without considering the game’s connections to violence, career educator Lois Beardslee, who is Native American, and whose grandfather was lynched, knows to speak “submissively, hoping not to offend” when asking a white second grade teacher to consider an alternate name to the game. It doesn’t go well. The teacher flips out, gets defensive, and demands that Ms. Beardslee never return to the school. “A lot of educators turn out to be ineducable, especially when the person doing the educating doesn’t look like them.” (13 min)

+ I highly recommend this piece for the quality of its writing.

Ghosted by Allies: Why BIPOC Still Can’t Trust White People With Justice

“We all knew it was coming,” writes Angie Franklin, yoga instructor and wellness entrepreneur. After last summer’s surge of protesting against police brutality, supporting Black-owned businesses, and unsolicitedly Venmoing Black people money, white people have mostly retreated in their efforts to be allies and co-conspirators. The main problem, Ms. Franklin writes, is that “white folks have an uncanny way of centering themselves even when they aim to decenter.” (7 min)

+ This article reminded me of “When Black People Are In Pain, White People Just Join Book Clubs,” one of your favorites from last year.

The Joys Of Being A Beginner

We were all supposed to learn a new skill during the pandemic, right? You know, like a new language, or maybe quilting? Unfortunately, many adults have trouble taking on a beginner’s mindset. Not Tom Vanderbilt, though, whose 4-year-old daughter inspired him to learn (painstakingly sometimes) the game of chess. After some ribbing from his friends, Mr. Vanderbilt hires a coach and goes all in. “There is safety in sticking with what we’re already good at,” he writes. “But we forget we were once beginners in all sorts of things, until we were not.” (16 min)

+ Have you learned anything new since last year? Hit reply and share your inspiring accomplishments.

Just like that, and through no fault of your own, this 282nd issue of The Highlighter is coming to an end. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you thought by hitting reply or by clicking on the thumbs below.

Also, let’s welcome Dan and Preston, our reading community’s two new subscribers. I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. Also, thank you to loyal reader Marni for getting the word out!

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

• Forward today’s issue to a friend and urge them to subscribe

• Keep my reading energy up by buying me a coffee

• Take a bold stand, go all in, and become a VIP member

On the other hand, if you no longer want to receive this newsletter, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!

#281: Inheritance

Happy Thursday, loyal readers! If you’re a long-time subscriber of this newsletter, you know that I like sharing articles from a variety of publications. But sometimes, there’s just no way I can skip a blockbuster from The New York Times or The Washington Post. Such is the case this week, with The Atlantic’s Inheritance, “a project about American history, Black life, and the resilience of memory.” Today’s lead article, “American Democracy Is Only 55 Years Old” — which celebrates the struggle of Black Americans to secure voting rights but warns that progress is tenable — is my favorite piece so far from the collection. Please let me know what you think of it.

Also in this week’s issue, you’ll find articles comparing the Civil Rights Movement and Black Lives Matter, investigating the rise of eating disorders among men, and exploring the dangers of the popular Brazilian Butt Lift. Please enjoy!

+ In case you’re a maybe for this month’s Article Club discussion, you might want to check out this interview with Theodore R. Johnson, author of “How the Black Vote Became a Monolith.” Loyal reader Sarai and I got to ask Dr. Johnson some questions about voting and political engagement among Black Americans. We’ll be discussing his piece on Feb. 28 at 2 pm. Let me know if you’re in!

American Democracy Is Only 55 Years Old

This outstanding essay by Vann R. Newkirk II about the Voting Rights Act and the fragility of democracy begins with a touching letter to his mother, who was born a year before the law’s passage and who died late last year.

“Democracy is central to America’s idea of itself, but that idea had never been a reality until the VRA. You always reminded me of the precariousness and the novelty of this experiment — of the fact that I had been granted a franchise that wasn’t even yours when you were born. In school textbooks, the black-and-white photographs of civil-rights protests suggested that America had vanquished its demons ages ago. But you told me that the people marching in those photographs were the people who sang in the choir at church and who brought chitlins to family reunions. We were taught that Black folks had been granted a fundamental right in perpetuity, but in truth the boundaries and contours of that right were in flux and constantly being negotiated, renegotiated, and sometimes overruled.

“You lived 56 years. You witnessed the entirety of what might be considered genuine democracy in America. I fear that era might not last much longer.” (29 min)

From Civil Rights To Black Lives Matter

From Emmett Till to Trayvon Martin, sociologist Aldon Morris compares the origins and strategies of the Civil Rights Movement and Black Lives Matter, emphasizing the importance of emotions — in particular, anger and love — in transforming mental attitudes and achieving social change. Espousing an “indigenous perspective theory,” which suggests that the power of social movements comes directly from within oppressed communities, Prof. Morris predicts that Black Lives Matter’s decentralized approach, and its commitment to inclusive leadership, may outlast today’s sophisticated methods of surveillance and repression. (19 min)

This Is What It’s Like For Men With Eating Disorders

One unfortunate (and ironic) effect of greater gender equality is that cisgender men now face harmful body image expectations once reserved for women. The combination of TikTok, Instagram, Captain America, and Black Panther have pushed teenagers and young men to exercise multiple times a day, call the gym their home, and eat salads without dressing for lunch. As a result, men make up 1 in 3 cases of anorexia and bulimia, an all-time high. (18 min)

+ For more articles on dieting, body positivity, and fat shaming, check out this Highlighter Spotlight.

Brazilian Butt Lift: Behind The World’s Most Dangerous Cosmetic Surgery

“The quest was simple,” author Sophie Elmhirst writes, “Melissa wanted the perfect bottom.” For Melissa and thousands of women worldwide, the only solution was the BBL, which redistributes fat from various parts of the body and injects it into the buttocks. “ ‘If you’ve had a BBL, it’s like you’ve already edited your body in real life,’ Melissa said, ‘so you don’t have to edit your pictures.’ ” But looking like Kim Kardashian means confronting one of the most dangerous cosmetic surgeries out there, plus even if you survive, “the body remains alive, organic, unpredictable.” (25 min)

Look at you, making a great choice! You chose to read The Highlighter instead of watching Bridgerton again from the beginning. I hope you enjoyed this week’s issue. Let me know what you thought by hitting reply or by clicking on the thumbs below.

Also, let’s welcome our reading community’s four new subscribers, Arbee, James, James, and Cali. I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox.

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

• Forward today’s issue to a friend and urge them to subscribe

• Buy me a coffee to keep my great-article-finding energy up

• Take a bold stand, go all in, and become a VIP

On the other hand, if you don’t like that this newsletter arrives in your inbox every week, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!

#280: The Whiteness Of The Classics

Hi there, loyal readers. Thank you for being here, whether this is your first issue or your 280th. As a former history teacher, I loved this week’s well-written lead article, “He Wants to Save Classics From Whiteness” and think you’ll like it, too, even if you’re not a fan of the ivory tower. The other three pieces — about a white woman who pretends to be Black, a racist work environment at Bon Appétit, and a typical college evening that turns awful — are also worth your attention. I hope that you enjoy one or all of them!

+ Let’s take a brief moment to appreciate loyal readers Frederik, Micki, Kyle, Jessica, and Donna. This is their 100th issue of The Highlighter. Should they get a prize?

+ I’m happy to announce that this month at Article Club, we’re reading and discussing “How The Black Vote Became a Monolith,” by Theodore R. Johnson, originally featured last September in Issue #262. I warmly invite you to join the discussion. You can find out more information and sign up here.

He Wants To Save Classics From Whiteness

Whether it’s Black Lives Matter, taking down Confederate monuments, defunding the police, renaming schools in San Francisco, or responding to the pandemic, this past year has reminded us how charged and tribal our discourse has become. Princeton professor Dan-el Padilla Peralta believes we should question Classics as a discipline and reconsider whether Greece and Rome should be exalted over other ancient civilizations.

That seems like a reasonable inquiry, right? Not according to many of his colleagues, who reframe Prof. Padilla’s argument as an attempt to dismantle and abolish Classics altogether.

In this outstanding article, which offers a window into the conservatism of academia, Rachel Poser suggests that white liberals agree with Prof. Padilla’s critique — and welcome discussions on antiracism, whiteness, and white supremacy — so long as they can “go back to doing exactly what [they’ve] been doing.” (40 min)

Jessica Krug, The White Professor Who Posed As Black For Years

After former history professor Jessica Krug got caught for not being a Black woman, not being a Puerto Rican woman, and not being from the Bronx, she wrote, “I am a coward.” But she didn’t apologize. Ms. Krug grew up in Overland Park, Kansas, an affluent white suburb, and attended elite private schools before rebranding herself as Jess La Bombalera and decrying gentrification in New York City. Sure, we can ridicule Ms. Krug as we did Rachel Dolezal five years ago. But this phenomenon of white people posing as Black is not going away. And the harm they cause is profound. (22 min)

The Test Kitchen At Bon Appétit

When the Bon Appétit scandal broke last year, I tried not to care too much, despite the story’s significance. There’s no way to follow everything, right? But now Reply All is doing a four-part exposé, with deep reporting by Sruthi Pinnamaneni, who begins the story 10 years ago, when the magazine hired a white editor from GQ who knew nothing about food. A toxic, racist workplace worsened, with chefs of color being expected to serve as assistants and getting snubbed from opportunities to appear in the magazine. In this podcast episode, Ms. Pinnamaneni listens and lifts up the voices of staff members as they describe how they came to realize that something was horrendously wrong at Bon App. (57 min)

+ In other food-related news, De Cecco has shared additional details about last year’s bucatini shortage.

Public Safety

Roxane Gay launched The Audacity last month, a newsletter in which she tells stories, hosts a book club, and features original essays from emerging writers. This essay by Paul Rousseau will shock you. One month before graduating from college, Mr. Rousseau is shot on accident by his best friend Mark inside their on-campus apartment. (No, that’s not the shocking part.) In the shooting’s aftermath, Mark lies and obfuscates, leaving Paul to contemplate the hole in his head. (16 min)

+ Here’s Ms. Gay in conversation with Kimberly Drew and Jenna Wortham, co-editors of Black Futures. The first question: “What does it mean to be Black and alive right now?”

+ Reader Annotations: Loyal reader and teacher Shreya appreciated “The Zoom Gaze” (#276) and paired the article with Jia Tolentino’s “The I In The Internet” (which I should read) for students in her New Narratives electives class. Shreya writes:

For my juniors and seniors, ~35% of their entire high school careers (!) will have happened during the pandemic, with video platforms a huge part of how they will have taken AP tests, done college campus visits and interviews, had class social events and milestones like graduation, etc. It was interesting to discuss how Zoom has been amazing in allowing school to happen but is also really disorienting and problematic.

I’m happy your students had a good discussion, Shreya! (Teachers get extra points for incorporating articles from The Highlighter into their classes.)

Readers last week also connected with “The Climate Crisis Is Worse Than You Can Imagine. What If You Try?” Loyal reader Kati does her part to combat climate change but also “felt bad for the Kalmus family.” She writes:

They are letting this slow-moving disaster ruin the life they currently have. I get where they’re coming from, but I also felt sad for them. I think about this all the time as well, and how so many people think we’re “weird” to not want to acquire junk, for instance, or try to eat in a way that is less disruptive to the environment. There are not enough people trying to make changes, so my belief is that it needs to come from corporations and legislation; otherwise, we’re all screwed. (I think we’re all screwed.)

Loyal readers, I value hearing your thoughts and learning from your perspectives. Please hit reply and let’s keep this conversation going!

Please give yourself a pat on the back. You chose to read The Highlighter instead of watching the cat lawyer video on repeat. I hope you enjoyed this week’s issue. Let me know what you thought by hitting reply or by clicking on the thumbs below.

Also, let’s welcome our reading community’s four new subscribers, including Richard, Maya, and Matt. I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox.

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

• Forward today’s issue to a friend and urge them to subscribe

• Buy me a coffee to say thank you for compiling this issue

• Take a bold stand, go all in, and become a VIP of the newsletter

On the other hand, if you don’t like that this newsletter arrives in your inbox every week, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!

#279: The Black Art Of Escape

Is it already February? Indeed it is, so says the calendar. Loyal readers, thank you for opening up today’s issue of The Highlighter, and I hope that your Thursday has begun well.

Here’s a fun fact about how I compile this newsletter: For the most part, I do not save articles for future weeks or try to organize them around a common theme. That means that what gets featured here represents my favorite articles I’ve read over the past week, and usually, you get a wide range of pieces on different topics that seemingly have no relationship with each other. But sometimes, like this week, the articles talk to each other.

Today you’ll read four perspectives on resistance and resilience. The lead article, “The Black Art of Escape,” explores one man’s approach to contending with 400 years of racism, while the other three pieces discuss resistance to capitalism, the pandemic, and climate change. I hope you enjoy them. Please hit reply and tell me what you think.

The Art Of Escape: A Vision For Black Americans

Casey Gerald: “We — if you are who I hope you are — still find ourselves, 400 years later, in a bind, or a country. Our country. We have learned and taught so many tactics to survive in it. To assimilate, best we can. To fight for our rights, even to the death. Yet here we are, shit in fan, wondering (at least, I wonder) what may be our next best move. I have come back to offer a way — one that saved me, just as it once saved our flying forebears: the Black art of escape. No one, in these 400 years, has discovered the sure path to freedom. All I’m trying to say is this: Any freedom manual without flight instructions is not worth reading.

“As we stand, you and I, at the shoreline of destruction, seeing, in the distance, the end of this American empire, there is but one way forward, old and true: Be not conformed to this society — nor kill yourself to make it love you — but be transformed in it, against it, by the renewal of your mind, body, and spirit. No matter the cost. Claim your inheritance. Miss the moment. Go mad, go missing, take a nap, take the day, drop a tab. You’re free! Kum baba yali. The kingdom is nigh. Send a postcard, won’t you? Wink at me on the subway, in our dreams.” (35 min)

On Vibing

One way to combat capitalism is to do absolutely nothing. Tricia Hersey knows how. So does Jenny Odell. In this piece, Mary Retta champions the practice of “vibing,” which she defines as “refusing a schedule” yet “filling days with intention.” It’s simultaneously doing nothing and doing something. Because Ms. Retta considers linear time as a white colonial construct that protects the status quo, vibing is an act of resistance that “shapes time into pleasure” and “molds it into something that feels soft and sweet.” (9 min)

+ Are you advanced at vibing? If so, please share.

“I Can’t Do This Anymore.” Middle Schoolers Struggling In The Pandemic

This well-written portrait of four middle schoolers in Philadelphia captures the despair and resilience of young people as they struggle with distance learning. Seventh grader Anuar began the year optimistic: dressing up for class, fixing his hair, keeping his camera on. But by November, the slog of eight hours a day on screens had drained him. “I can’t do this anymore,” he said. “I need to see people. I need to see the teacher. I can’t learn without seeing them.” (25 min)

The Climate Crisis Is Worse Than You Can Imagine. What If You Try?

The problem with climate change is that it’s easier to pretend it doesn’t exist than to try to do something about it. If you actually care, like climate scientist Peter Kalmus, who has spent years calling for collective action to protect the planet, you might alienate your family, insist on dumpster diving, avoid all travel, and suffer a mental breakdown. After all, your wife doesn’t want to use the outdoor toilet, and your kids don’t want to listen to you all day warning of imminent doom. (15 min)

+ What’s your strategy to deal with climate change?

+ Reader Annotations: Loyal reader Lisa, an English teacher, appreciated last week’s podcast episode featuring Isabel Wilkerson. She wrote, “I am very excited to have my AP students read or listen to the Wilkerson interview as a companion piece to Brave New World and a discussion of caste systems.” That’s a great idea, Lisa, and would love to hear more about what your students thought.

On a different note, the bucatini article (#276) continued its momentum this week, evoking strong views from loyal reader Beth, who declared that “walnuts are perfectly fine in pesto.” She added, “They are cheaper.” Chef Lisa concurred, offering this pesto recipe that combines walnuts with pistachios and pine nuts. “It is absolutely delicious,” Lisa wrote.

Thank you, Lisa and Beth, for your enthusiastic reader annotations. Loyal readers, please do not hesitate to share your perspectives. For example: Is it time that this newsletter rebrand and feature exclusively food-related content?

Look at you! You’re an expert reader. I hope you enjoyed this week’s issue of The Highlighter. Let me know what you thought by hitting reply or by clicking on the thumbs below.

Also, let’s welcome our reading community’s nine new subscribers: Kristy, Andy, Liz, Mary, Loretta, Tarik, Erin, Kate, and Jenny. I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. Thank you to VIP Peter and loyal reader Bora for spreading the good word!

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

• Forward today’s issue to a friend and urge them to subscribe

• Treat me to a coffee (thank you very much, Sarah!)

• Go all in and become a VIP of the newsletter

On the other hand, if you don’t like that this newsletter arrives in your inbox every week, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!

#278: The Zoom Gaze

When I launched this newsletter six-ish years ago, I didn’t think I would be highlighting articles exploring the long-term consequences of video conferencing software. But such is the pandemic, and such is technology, and this week’s smart lead article, “The Zoom Gaze,” succinctly summarizes how our digital lives have changed. If you already Zoom enough that you don’t want to read about Zoom, you’re in luck, because today’s issue also includes Isabel Wilkerson on the intractability of caste, M.H. Miller on the recalcitrance of student debt, and John Calapinto on the uniqueness of the human voice. Please enjoy!

+ Loyal readers, I had this thought the other evening: At this point, as The Highlighter has grown, most of you have never met me, and know little about me — and vice versa. First of all, thank you for trusting me to bring you articles every Thursday, and I hope you find value in them. But second of all, please feel free to reach out, say hi, and ask me anything. Our reading community is a tight, thoughtful one, and I’d like to welcome you to it and encourage you to participate in it in the way you find most comfortable.

+ Article Club’s momentum continues to grow, thanks to last Sunday’s discussion of “Motherland,” by Jiayang Fan. We welcomed new members Angie, Bora, Lauri, and Phoebe, and facilitators Sarai and Summer led thoughtful conversations. (Mine was good, too!) What’s funny is that some Article Clubbers don’t know about The Highlighter (but might like it), and many of you don’t know about Article Club (but might like it). Who knows, maybe we should all be friends? Here’s more info if you want to check it out!

The Zoom Gaze

The reason we’re tired of Zoom is not just because we’re looking at screens all day. According to technologist Autumm Caines, the software has transformed the norms by which we interact with each other and the way we perceive ourselves.

Toni Morrison rejected the white gaze in literature that presumes the white reader’s perspective as neutral. Scholar Laura Mulvey criticized the male gaze in film that centers straight men and objectifies women. In this article, Ms. Caines explores the power dynamics of the Zoom gaze and asks, “Whose perspective does it seek to naturalize? What does it condition us to see?”

By encouraging us to see ourselves being seen, by offering 68 video settings that we can manipulate, by skewing eye contact, by making us work harder to express and receive emotion, Zoom promotes self-surveillance and magnifies performance culture, “opening a gap between how we wish to be perceived and how we know ourselves to actually be.” (12 min)

+ How many hours a day do you Zoom? Do you like it? (I’m kidding.)

America’s Caste System Is 400 Years Old. That Doesn’t Change Overnight.

I deeply admire Isabel Wilkerson, author of Caste and The Warmth of Other Sons. In this interview with Kara Swisher for the Sway podcast, Ms. Wilkerson explains the development of the American caste system and some of its effects, including how COVID has ravaged our country’s subordinated caste and how the Jan. 6 insurrection protected our country’s dominant caste. Like Bryan Stevenson, Ms. Wilkerson points out that today’s calls for “healing and unity” sound similar to sentiments that halted the progress of Reconstruction. (39 min)

+ My dream is to convince Ms. Wilkerson to participate in Article Club. You get a prize if you woo her and she says yes.

An American Family’s Struggle For Student Loan Redemption

Should we feel compassion for M.H. Miller, who has a cushy job at the New York Times but who at 33 years old still owes $182,000 in college debt, largely because he decided to attend New York University and earn two degrees in English literature? In general, I say yes, because he makes this case well: “The foundational myth of an entire generation of Americans was the false promise that education was priceless — that its value was above or beyond its cost. College was not a right or a privilege but an inevitability on the way to a meaningful adulthood.” (20 min)

+ Do you connect with the author? And what should we do with our country’s $1.4 trillion college debt?

The Day My Voice Broke: What An Injury Taught Me About The Power Of Speech

“The voice,” Aristotle wrote, “is the sound produced by a creature possessing a soul.” Too bad so many of us take our unique, expressive voices for granted. After John Calapinto damaged his vocal cords, he found himself modifying his speech — lowering his pitch, maintaining a monotone, tensing up his neck muscles — in order to get through the day. Over time, this loss of prosody also prevented Mr. Calapinto from expressing a full range of emotions, thereby affecting his personality and making him less recognizable to his loved ones. (19 min)

+ Yes, that’s the first time I’ve ever quoted Aristotle. Impressive given that the article also mentions Adele and Steven Tyler from Aerosmith.

+ Reader Annotations: This week, the hubbub surrounding the bucatini article (#276) continued apace. Correcting the record, VIP Phoebe confirmed her adulation for the article but clarified that she feels less love for the pasta itself. “My 4-exclamation-mark enthusiasm was for the article, not for the pasta,” she wrote. “I like bucatini, but I will save my single and multiple exclamation marks for other types of noodle products.”

Loyal reader Monica, who claims 0 percent Italian blood, nevertheless weighed in on my follow-up prompt about pesto’s proper ingredients. “As for walnuts vs. pine nuts: JUST SAY NO TO WALNUTS,” she wrote. “Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean it’s a good idea.”

Thank you very much for your contributions, Phoebe and Monica. Loyal readers, if an article strikes a chord, don’t keep your feelings trapped inside. Share them by hitting reply!

Unfortunately, what is good must come to an end. Thank you for reading this week’s issue of The Highlighter. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you thought by hitting reply or by clicking on the thumbs below.

Also, let’s welcome our reading community’s three new subscribers: Gabriel, Lauren, and Barnabas. I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox.

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

• Forward today’s issue to a friend and urge them to subscribe

• Buy me a coffee to keep my reading energy high

• Go all in and become a VIP of the newsletter

On the other hand, if you don’t like that this newsletter arrives in your inbox every week, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!

#277: Unraveling The Stitches

Hi loyal readers! Already this January, we’ve had an insurrection, an impeachment, and an inauguration. But in addition to all of that historic news, something entirely different has captured the attention of our esteemed reading community: bucatini. After enjoying this week’s offerings — a poignant lead article on immigration, a well-written essay on Black veganism, and two podcast episodes on self-deprecating humor and anti-elitism — head on down to “Reader Annotations,” where you’ll find yourself immersed in a vibrant debate among fellow readers. There’s no reason there can’t be a Round 2, so hit reply if you want to continue the conversation.

+ Two of my favorite things about Article Club are that I get to discuss great articles with thoughtful people (yes, you) and that the authors always join in on the fun. This month, Jiayang Fan shared her thoughts on “Motherland,” which we’re discussing this Sunday. If you like to read and hang out with great people, plus hobnob with fancy writers, let me know, and I’ll make sure you’re in next month.

Unraveling The Stitches

Forty years ago, Kalyanee Mam and her family fled the Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia to seek a better life in the United States. In this beautiful essay, an ode to her parents, Ms. Mam tells the story of how the American Dream remained elusive, a false promise that challenged her family’s culture. She writes, “We fled a genocide in Cambodia only to enter into another genocide of our ancestry, our identity, and the core being of who we are.”

At the core of this piece is the contrast between Ms. Mam’s father and mother and how they attempt in different ways to achieve recognition and acceptance as immigrants. In Khmer, the word is មុខ-មាត់ (moukh-meat), which means “a face and a mouth,” or more generally, “the ability to be seen and heard.” While Ms. Mam’s dad embraces American capitalism, learning English and going to community college, her mom holds fast to the collectivism she learned from her ancestors: “Nothing belongs to me; yet I belong to everything.”

Tragically, neither approach works, at least not until Ms. Mam forges her own path, graduates from college, and returns home. (30 min)

How I Found Empowerment In The History Of Black Veganism

Amirah Mercer: “Plant-based eating has a long, radical history in Black American culture, preserved by institutions and individuals who have understood the power of food and nutrition in the fight against oppression. In an ideal world, our food would simply be a source of nutrition and fuel for the body, not a political statement. But four years into my plant-based eating journey, I now happily embrace the label of ‘vegan’ because I understand its legacy within Black culture. I also understand that, as a Black woman, any personal choice I make to celebrate my identity is inevitably political, and for that reason, plant-based eating is probably one of the Blackest things I could do. As a Black woman in America, my veganism is, in fact, a homecoming.” (26 min)

How To Love Yourself

Listening to the Teenager Therapy podcast reminds me how much I miss working directly with young people. Gael, Thomas, Kayla, Mark, and Isaac — seniors at Loara High School in Anaheim — are wise beyond their years, discussing topics I knew nothing about growing up. In this episode, they focus on how self-deprecating humor can be toxic and harmful and how to practice habits of self-love. Perfect, right? Don’t worry: They’ll also complain about their teachers and divulge that they’ve barely applied to college, despite their big dreams. (30 min)

+ Here’s where I tell you I was a fan of the podcast before it was featured in The New York Times.

My Year In Mensa

I don’t hold anything against smart people. In fact, I try to be one when I can. But nobody likes anybody who acts superior, so that’s why I loved this hilarious takedown of Mensa International, “the high-IQ society.” In this four-episode podcast series, Jamie Loftus infiltrates the group, attends its annual conference, and exposes its dark underbelly. The narration is outstanding (and the liberal use of air horn is a plus). Turns out, being smart doesn’t mean you’ll end up being good. (45 min)

+ VIP Michele says, “This podcast is great!”

+ Reader Annotations: Last week’s article about bucatini prompted so many replies and exclamation points, my email nearly broke. VIP Jamie wrote, “Bucatini is the best long pasta hands down!” Loyal reader Matt wrote, “The bucatini piece made me want bucatini!” VIP Phoebe was even more effusive in her praise: “I MUST USE ALL CAPS TO DECLARE THAT I LOVED THE BUCATINI ARTICLE!” (She included four exclamation points, but The Highlighter’s style guide allows for only one per sentence.) Undeterred, Phoebe added:

I had a smile on my face throughout the entire article. The smile is still on my face. And I must also confirm that there was no De Cecco bucatini on the shelf when I went grocery shopping today. I noticed the glaring hole on the shelf, with the sad little sign for bucatini turned upside down to indicate that it was out of stock. I bought two boxes of fusilli.

Despite Phoebe’s enthusiasm, not everyone shared her view on bucatini. Loyal reader Monica, “a rebel at heart,” stated bluntly, “I am not a fan of bucatini.” She lamented that her partner bought “several boxes at Grocery Outlet one time,” which led her to confirm her love of fettuccine.

Then there’s loyal reader Lisa, whose refused to take sides in the debate and instead shared this nuanced contribution:

Pasta comes in so many varieties that saying one is the best is like saying eggplants far exceed lettuce and yet how can one compare the two? If I am making a salad, of course some red little gems or arugula would do the trick. If I want a side to go with my meatballs, with leftovers for the morning, I would opt for roasted eggplant wedges. Roasted lettuce would be, well, awkward to say the least. And so it is for pasta. Bucatini may well be the best pasta on earth if your sauce is a meaty ragu; however, homemade buckwheat linguine are sublime with a radicchio and pancetta topping, and for carbonara, nothing will do like a thin spaghetti. So the question is flawed.

Thank you very much for all these spirited opinions. Now I know what drives our reading community. Next week, I’ll be sure to feature an article about whether pesto can be made with walnuts rather than pine nuts. (My 98.8 percent Italian score says no way.)

Unfortunately, what is good must come to an end. Thank you for reading this week’s issue of The Highlighter. I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know what you thought by hitting reply or by clicking on the thumbs below.

Also, let’s welcome our reading community’s six new subscribers, including Amy and Sai. I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox.

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

• Forward today’s issue to a friend and urge them to subscribe

• Treat me to a cup of coffee (or 5 — thank you, Martha!)

• Go all in and become a VIP of the newsletter (like Martha!)

On the other hand, if you don’t like that this newsletter arrives in your inbox every week, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!

#276: Denial Is The Heartbeat Of America

Hi loyal readers, and thank you very much for being here. All four articles this week are outstanding and worthy of your time and attention. In this week’s lead article, Ibram X. Kendi urges us to sit with the truth of our country and its history, rather than clinging to mythical narratives of exceptionalism and inevitable progress. The second piece — about the last two northern white rhinos on Earth — makes time stop and will likely make you cry. Then, after a cat break, you’ll find two more great articles, one that further reveals the inequities of capitalism and the other that further reveals the limitations of government regulation. Please enjoy!

+ If you have a moment: Hit reply, say hi, and let me know which article you appreciated most this week. Thank you!

Denial Is The Heartbeat Of America

Ibram X. Kendi: “We must stop the heartbeat of denial and revive America to the thumping beat of truth. The carnage has no chance of stopping until the denial stops. This is not who we are must become, in the aftermath of the attack on the U.S. Capitol: This is precisely who we are. And we are ashamed. And we are aggrieved at what we’ve done, at how we let this happen. But we will change. We will hold the perpetrators accountable. We will change policy and practices. We will radically root out this problem. It will be painful. But without pain there is no healing.

“And in the end, what will make America true is the willingness of the American people to stare at their national face for the first time, to open the book of their history for the first time, and see themselves for themselves — all the political viciousness, all the political beauty — and finally right the wrongs, or spend the rest of the life of America trying. This can be who we are.” (12 min)

+ This is Dr. Kendi’s fourth essay in the newsletter. Check out “You Can’t Be Neutral,” “The American Nightmare,” and “The Power of American Denial.”

A Mother And Daughter At The End

Najin enjoys a good morning scratchdown. Fatu gets mad when egrets land on her back. Mother and daughter, they’re the last two northern white rhinos on Earth. What will be lost when they die? In this sad, tender article, Sam Anderson spends a week with Najin and Fatu. He watches them graze and sharpen their horns on a little metal gate. “It was no time at all, in the scheme of things — not even a blink of evolution’s eye, and just the tiniest fraction of the girls’ big, wrinkled lives. But out there in the field, time hung thick like fog. Every day felt like a sliver of eternity.” (35 min)

Using The Homeless To Guard Empty Houses

Augustus Evans is a 67-year-old homeless man who guards vacant houses in Los Angeles while real estate developers renovate and flip them for a huge profit. For the temporary shelter and $800 a month, Mr. Evans must promise not to leave the premises except for quick trips to the market. Doing so would endanger his relationship with Wedgewood, which certainly does not want to repeat last year’s public relations disaster, when Moms 4 Housing occupied its empty property in Oakland, drawing attention to the company’s gentrifying practices. (24 min)

The Very Real, Totally Bizarre Bucatini Shortage Of 2020

My latest 23andMe profile says I’m 98.8 percent Italian (more than before — the data changes!), which means pasta must be in my blood. That’s why I liked this investigation by Rachel Handler, who painstakingly pursues one of the great mysteries of 2020: why bucatini (“the best long pasta there ever was or ever will be”) disappeared from the shelves. No spoilers here, except to say the intrigue includes the De Cecco family, an unrelated man named De Cecco, and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (18 min)

+ Please hit reply to confirm, deny, and discuss: Is bucatini far and away the best pasta out there?

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

Also, let’s welcome our reading community’s two new subscribers, Carolyn and Adam. I hope you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox.

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

• Think of one person who would appreciate the newsletter. Then forward today’s issue and encourage them to subscribe

• Treat me to a cup of coffee (thank you, Joanne!)

• Go all in and become a VIP of the newsletter (you’ll like it)

On the other hand, if your New Year’s resolution is to declutter your inbox, and this newsletter is causing clutter, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!

#275: Some Thoughts On Mercy

This isn’t the first time that a disturbing, devastating event has immediately preceded an issue of The Highlighter. Yesterday’s storming of the Capitol was one just example of several in this newsletter’s six-year history. I remember the massacre at Pulse night club in Orlando, the 2016 Election, the mass shooting in Las Vegas, and of course, the murder of George Floyd. Every time, I search late into the night for an article that might offer perspective. They never seem to exist — that is to say, not until many weeks later, when we’ve had time to process what’s happened. In time, I’ll be sure to find them and share them with you. But this morning, as I think about what to write here, I’m reminded that we may feel a range of emotions about yesterday’s events. But one that no longer fits right, that doesn’t make sense, is “shocked.” What happened yesterday wasn’t unpredictable; it didn’t come out of nowhere. After all, as historian Heather Cox Richardson wrote, “Today the Confederate flag flew in the United States Capitol.”

Before launching into today’s issue, which features outstanding articles on the possibilities of mercy and reconciliation, the benefits of gift economies, the contributions of Indigenous scholars, and the ravages of COVID-19, I’d like to welcome all of you — and in particular, the bunch of new subscribers — to another year of The Highlighter. I look forward to connecting with you more deeply and building our reading community. More details to come soon!

+ I’m happy to announce that Article Club is back, and this month, we’ll be discussing “Motherland,” by Jiayang Fan. Voted best article of 2020 by Longform, the piece explores the author’s complicated relationship with her mother as she battles ALS. Already, many of you have signed up, and Ms. Fan has generously agreed to an interview (authors always participate!), so if you’re intrigued and want to join, please do! Here’s more information.

+ In case you missed it: Here are your five favorite articles of 2020, the ones you read the most. Go ahead: Organize a reading party with your friends and enjoy them all. (Then tell me about it.)

Some Thoughts On Mercy

Ross Gay: “When the police suspect a Black man or boy of having a gun, he becomes murderable: Murderable despite having earned advanced degrees or bought a cute house or written a couple of books of poetry. Murderable whether he’s an unarmed adult or a child riding a bike in the opposite direction. Murderable in the doorways of our houses. Murderable as we come home from the store. Murderable as we lie face down on the ground in a subway station. Murderable the day before our weddings. Murderable, probably, in our gardens.

“We all exist, mostly unwittingly, in a world of illusions with all-too-real consequences. What if we acknowledged those fears, regardless of how awful or shameful they are? What if we acknowledged this country’s terrible and ongoing history of imagining its own citizens — Indigenous, Black, Japanese American, Arab American, Latino — as monsters? What if we honestly assessed what we have come to believe about ourselves and each other, and how those beliefs shape our lives? And what if we did it with generosity and forgiveness? What if we did it with mercy?” (22 min)

+ Mr. Gay wrote this article in July 2013, the month Black Lives Matter was founded. Some parts still feel spot-on relevant. Other parts, though — the more hopeful parts — may feel out of step, falsely nostalgic and optimistic.

Gifts And Gratitude Create Abundance

The problem with capitalism, according to Robin Wall Kimmerer, is that its central premise is scarcity, when the land offers abundance. One evening in the wooded hills, Prof. Kimmerer, a member of Citizen Potawatomi Nation, reflects on what Saskatoon serviceberries can teach us about the power of gratitude and reciprocity. If we replace zero-sum economies with gift economies, where resources are shared rather than hoarded, we’ll realize that there’s enough bounty for all of us. (26 min)

+ Depending on your level of jaded skepticism, you might find the beginning of this piece a bit woo-woo. But give it a chance: It’ll grow on you.

Yoshi, who belongs to VIP Summer, adorns the cover of this year’s prized Pets of The Highlighter calendar. Get yours today, before it’s too late! highlighter.cc/store

The Empire Of All Maladies

According to the “virgin-soil epidemic” thesis first presented by Alfred Crosby, European diseases accelerated the genocide of Native Americans. Indigenous scholars now dispute this argument, arguing that we should place blame not on microbes but rather on oppressive people and policies. In this well-written piece, Nick Estes, a citizen of the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe, cites our government’s current response to the coronavirus as this century’s version of Columbus’s smallpox. Prof. Estes writes, “The United States only knows violence. It convinces through force. It is numb to suffering and indifferent to the welfare of people.” (14 min)

The Plague Year

Last year, I steered clear of featuring too many COVID-related articles, mostly because we got inundated with them every day for months on end. But there’s no way I can’t recommend this epic, riveting piece by Lawrence Wright, whose comprehensive account of the pandemic puts into perspective how tragic and surreal the past 10 months have been for all of us. (123 min)

+ No, this isn’t a short article by any means. But I guarantee you, it’s outstanding. If you make your way through, let me know: I’d love to talk about it.

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 12 new subscribers, including Matt, Jackie, Katarina, Nina, Cassandra, Angela, Leah, Stephanie, Kayla, Joe, and Gretchen. I hope that you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox.

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

• Think of one person who would appreciate the newsletter. Then forward today’s issue and encourage them to subscribe

• Treat me to a cup of coffee (or 5 — thanks, Leslie!)

• Go all in and become a VIP of the newsletter, like Leslie

On the other hand, if you’re Marie Kondo-ing your inbox and this newsletter no longer brings you joy, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT!

#274: The Best Articles of 2020 ⭐️ 🎉

We did it, loyal readers. Somehow, despite this intense, grueling, unsparing year, our reading community has gotten stronger, thanks to your unwavering support. Thank you for coming back Thursday after Thursday, for reading the 200 articles I put in front of you, and for making this newsletter bigger and better.

Here are a few highlights from the year:

• We grew by hundreds of new subscribers

• Our esteemed VIPs doubled and our coffee supporters tripled

• Article Club launched (and it’s pretty great) with Jia Tolentino, Paul Tough, Hafizah Geter, and other great authors

• Now there’s a website, a store, and a game show!

Now it’s time to reveal the best four articles of the year: my favorite three, followed by your favorite. Are you ready? Can you predict them? Do we need a fancy award ceremony? (Wait, this gives me an idea, actually.) I’m really pleased with this year’s winners. The selection process was rigorous. After scanning all 200 articles, I chose 18 semifinalists, reread them all, and then by equal parts sheer will and brute force, got the list down to the best of the best. They’re outstanding, and I hope you enjoy (re)reading them.

This is the last issue of 2020. Over the next few weeks, amid all the hubbub of the holidays, I plan on reading, resting, and reflecting, and I hope you are able to do the same. Thank you again, and see you in a few weeks!

What Is Owed

Nikole Hannah-Jones: “If Black lives are to truly matter in America, this nation must move beyond slogans and symbolism. Citizens don’t inherit just the glory of their nation, but its wrongs too. A truly great country does not ignore or excuse its sins. It confronts them and then works to make them right. If we are to be redeemed, if we are to live up to the magnificent ideals upon which we were founded, we must do what is just. It is time for this country to pay its debt. It is time for reparations.” (39 min)

+ Back in July, VIP Telannia reached out and asked if we could co-host a meet-up about this article. Absolutely! After the event, the group wanted to meet again — and continues to meet regularly, focusing now on helping to pass HR 40, a bill to study and develop proposals for reparations.

+ This is the second time Ms. Hannah-Jones has written one of the best articles of the year. Last year, her essay on The 1619 Project won top prize.

Lost In Summerland

After recovering from a traumatic brain injury when he was 22 years old, Andy Swanson started hearing things at home: creaky footsteps in the hallway, stray voices in the closet. When his dad showed up, concerned, Andy’s first words were, “There’s someone in the room with us.” The chandelier in the room flickered on its own.

This article, told from the point of view of his little brother, Barrett, explores Andy’s developing identity as a psychic and a medium. Most of all, though, this is a story of two brothers, their relationship, and their trip one summer to Lily Dale, New York, where every year, 20,000 Spiritualists gather to perform readings, conduct seances, and build community.

At the retreat, Barrett notices his brother’s rising confidence and sense of calm. But he’s also aware of his own uneasiness, acknowledges his history of depression, and recounts an incident from his past, when his big brother’s powers may have saved his life. (44 min)

+ Mr. Swanson joined Article Club in May to discuss his outstanding piece. He was delightful, thoughtful, and appreciative. Part of the Article Club experience is that authors sometimes join our discussions. It’s pretty great.

Baking Bread In Lyon

I have this joke that I’m going to quit my job to open up a scone store, but otherwise, I’m no baker, nor do I have dreams of moving to France to apprentice at a boulangerie. Good thing Bill Buford did, because in this beautiful story, we get to meet Bob the baker from Lyon, learn his secrets to making delicious baguettes (answer: the flour), and realize that the meaning of life may come down to food, family, le goût et les valeurs. (33 min)

+ Few people read this extraordinary piece, published early in the pandemic, before everyone began baking bread, but its poignant sentimentality kept me thinking about it for the whole year.

On Witness And Respair

Jesmyn Ward: “My Beloved died in January. He was a foot taller than me and had large, beautiful dark eyes and dexterous, kind hands. He fixed me breakfast and pots of loose-leaf tea every morning. He cried at both of our children’s births, silently, tears glazing his face. Before I drove our children to school in the pale dawn light, he would put both hands on the top of his head and dance in the driveway to make the kids laugh. He was funny, quick-witted, and could inspire the kind of laughter that cramped my whole torso. He traveled with me often on business trips, carried our children in the back of lecture halls, watchful and quietly proud as I spoke to audiences, as I met readers and shook hands and signed books. He indulged my penchant for Christmas movies, for meandering trips through museums, even though he would have much preferred to be in a stadium somewhere, watching football. One of my favorite places in the world was beside him, under his warm arm, the color of deep, dark river water.” (10 min)

+ Please don’t miss this: Here are the five most popular articles of the year.

Were my favorite articles your favorite ones, too? Or would you like to stage a protest? Please vote using the thumbs below. Or hit reply and tell me your thoughts. Also, thank you for reading this week’s issue of The Highlighter — and for reading The Highlighter all the year through. I hope you enjoyed it.

Also, let’s welcome our reading community’s two new subscribers, Rabani and Terri. I hope that you find the newsletter a solid addition to your email inbox. Also, thank you, loyal reader Minnie, 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:

• Looking for a holiday gift for your coworkers? Kindly send them today’s issue, then encourage them to subscribe!

• Treat me to a cup of coffee (or 8 — thanks, Eunice and Jeannette!)

• Go all in and become a VIP of the newsletter (like Telannia and Manuschka!)

On the other hand, if this newsletter does not delight you, please unsubscribe. See you in the new year — Thursday, Jan. 7, at 9:10 am, to be exact!

#273: Seeing At The Speed Of Sound

Hi there, loyal readers, and thank you for opening today’s issue of The Highlighter. Are you enjoying an extremely early sunset? (I’m not.) This week’s intriguing lead article, “Seeing At The Speed of Sound,” explores the mysteries of lipreading and the choices Deaf people make to communicate in a hearing world. I think you’re going to like it. The other three pieces are worth your time, too — whether it’s the podcast about homelessness in Oakland, the first-person account of a woman struggling with an eating disorder, or the profile of a 7-year-old student learning to read at a distance. Feel free to reply and share which piece resonates with you. Enjoy!

+ The First Annual Highlighter Game Show is tonight and is officially sold out! Thank you to VIP co-host Joel and loyal readers Shyanna and Omar for our dress rehearsal last night. Next week I’ll update you on who won all the prizes!

+ Be on the lookout next Thursday for the last issue of 2020, which will highlight the best and most popular articles of the year. What’s your vote? Let me know! (Should I give you a prize if you guess correctly?)

Seeing At The Speed Of Sound

Even the best lipreaders, writes Rachel Kolb, who is Deaf, understand only 30 percent of what is being said. It’s tough to tell the difference between a “d” and “g,” for instance. “P”s and “b”s are impossible. People who mumble or laugh a lot, or who have thin lips or beards, make lipreading harder. The worst of all? Darkness.

In this well-written article, Ms. Kolb describes how she developed her lipreading skills, recounts the challenges she has faced, and questions whether she should even communicate on the hearing world’s terms. She writes, “Sometimes I feel guilty that I lipread at all. I fear that I am betraying myself by accepting the conventions of the hearing world. I fear that I lack balance — that I am abandoning the communication tactics that work for me, in order to throw myself headlong at a system that does not care about my needs. When I attempt to function like a hearing person, am I not sacrificing my integrity to a game that I lack the tools to tackle, a game that in the end makes me look slow or stupid?” (16 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. (Thank you, Tali!)

According To Need

Michael lives in a 15-foot speed boat. Tulicia lives in her car along with her 11-year-old son. Reporter Katie Mingle lives nearby in a two-bedroom apartment in North Oakland that rents for $3,000. We know that the number of people experiencing homelessness has skyrocketed in gentrified areas, but we may understand less about the systems meant to address these challenges. In this five-part series by the makers of 99% Invisible, Ms. Mingle seeks to answer the question, “What are we doing to get people into housing?” It’s worth your listen. (17 min)

+ But should I like this series after reading last week’s lead article critiquing ethnography?

Loyal reader Erin has a great photojournalist brother, Neil, who recently earned an Oscar nomination for Unforgivable, a short film exploring the taboo of homosexuality among gang members in El Salvador. Check out the trailer!

My Year At An Eating Disorders Ward

Jenny Stevens: “I’m not quite sure where it all began, my eating disorder. Nor the marching orders in my head that told me again and again that I wasn’t good enough. I do remember going to the toilet at infant school and seeing myself in the mirror, my stomach curved like a road hump underneath my green school dress. I wasn’t much older than four. I turned sideways and watched the effect of sucking it in, and was disgusted at the difference. I hated my flesh; I wanted to be all bone.” (17 min)

+ Check out this spotlight for more articles on body image, fat shaming, dieting, and body positivity.

How Do Children Learn To Read During Virtual School?

I don’t remember how I learned to read, but it certainly wasn’t over Zoom. This article features second grader Zalaunshae’s fervent quest to improve her reading skills and highlights the contributions of her mother, Kathy Lloyd, who irons her a clean shirt every evening, and teacher Fatima Jallow, who combines small group instruction with praise and frequent dance breaks. Across the country, the literacy gap is widening under distance learning. But some schools, like Achievement Prep in Washington D.C., are iterating to find out what works. (9 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.

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

• Looking for a holiday gift for your coworkers? Kindly send them today’s issue, then encourage them to subscribe!

• Treat me to a cup of coffee (or 6 — thanks, Jenn and Leslie!)

• Go all in and become a VIP of the newsletter

On the other hand, if this newsletter is mostly ho-hum, please unsubscribe. See you next Thursday at 9:10 am PT for the best and most popular articles of the year!