Black leaders were critical to the formation of the modern reproductive rights movement. Before the end of Black History Month, we should pause and remember some of the leaders who shaped the movement in the years before Roe v. Wade.
Tag: Black History
Eight Recommended Books by Women to Understand Black History
A list of recommended readings—all written by women—that shed light on the richness and complexity of the Black experience in the United States
Miseducation and the Project of Panic, Propaganda and Power
As a Black woman academic, it has been painful to witness the attacks on the character of Claudine Gay—Harvard University’s former president and its first Black leader—and their after-effects. However, as a scholar of education, race and the law, these attacks also ring familiar. The project of white supremacy is to instill panic, to distort history and facts, to erase the contributions of Black and other minoritized people.
White supremacy appeals to the basest parts of us by stoking our fears, stereotypes and biases. It relies on disregard for the truth. It relies on resistance to recognizing the humanity of Black and other minoritized people. It appeals to the worst in America. And I believe it will take the best of America to affirmatively defeat it.
The Fight to End Legacy Admissions Must Account for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
As we sat on the bleachers, my grandfather became bored with waiting to see his first grandchild, my brother, walk across the stage for his bachelor’s degree. Using his bellowing voice, he broke out singing NYU’s alma mater song. I was mortified. But over the years, I have come to appreciate how he embraced the power of legacy.
The uprooting of affirmative action has left an unequal scale in the world of admissions, which many believe should be addressed by removing legacy admissions entirely. However, my grandfather’s story and the stories of many others like him point to an essential reason why legacy admissions should continue—just with restrictions that center on diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as on restoring access to economic, social, and cultural disinvestment in underrepresented groups.
Parental Lessons About Race Should Be Taught at Home in Early Childhood
“The Talk” is the conversation Black parents have with their children about race for their safety in American society. Black parents know they must have this talk with their children about the dangers of being Black in America; however, this important lesson needs to start in the early childhood years.
Children are more than ready to absorb the information in early childhood about their identity and the unique racial history that permeates American society.
January 2024: Reads for the Rest of Us
Each month, we provide Ms. readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups.
2023 ‘Best of the Rest’: Our Favorite Books of the Year!
Each month, we provide Ms. readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups. And each year, we review our monthly Reads for the Rest of Us lists and choose our favorite books of the entire year.
You’ve read the other “Best of” lists—now read the other one. You know, for the rest of us. So here they are, our book critic’s top 38, in alphabetical order.
Welcome to the New Jane Crow
The Supreme Court of Texas notched itself into a troubling tapestry of U.S. legal history when it overturned a district court ruling that allowed Kate Cox, a 31-year-old Texas woman, to end her nonviable pregnancy. The state is committed to forcing Cox to remain pregnant, against her will and medical recommendations.
Women in Texas are living in a new Jane Crow.
Florida: Where Learning Goes to Die
I’ve been a clerk, teacher and administrator in Volusia County, Fla., schools for decades. Our 9-year-old grandson will no longer be educated here.
Last school year, one like no other, I kept a journal because the laws coming down from Tallahassee and the school board meetings I regularly attend had become frightening. I knew the effects in the schools would be equally scary. They were worse than I imagined.
Censoring Conversations on Race Doesn’t Protect Children
Lawmakers are barring the education of, or exposure to, an understanding of the purposes and catalysts for the civil rights movement and the lasting impacts of white supremacy and white superiority by insisting on revisionist history and outright elimination of teaching facts in schools.
As Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson reminded us on the anniversary of the Birmingham bombing, “The uncomfortable lessons are often the ones that teach us the most about ourselves.”