More Than A Magazine, A Movement
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.”
Diversity, equity and inclusion efforts have become a lightning rod for debate in American higher education. At Rice University—a private university in Houston, Texas—officials admit impact is hard to measure, but they also see progress from their work.
(Ms. Classroom wants to hear from educators and students being impacted by legislation attacking public education, higher education, gender, race and sexuality studies, activism and social justice in education, and diversity, equity and inclusion programs. Submit pitches and/or op-eds and reflections to Ms. contributing editor Aviva Dove-Viebahn at adove-viebahn@msmagazine.com.)
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has succeeded in getting Donald Trump’s co-conspirators—especially key insiders Sydney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro—to plead guilty and testify against the former president and others.
This move is the latest example of Black women leading the way in defense of our endangered democracy.
The issue of book banning has resurfaced with renewed vigor. We must resist attempts to suppress books written by Black authors and diverse voices. Ms. spoke with Tiffany D. Jackson, Kimberly L. Jones, Jason Mott and Nicola Yoon—national award-winning authors—about the impact of book banning on both authors and society.
“Banning books will not make racial complexities and the world’s complexities disappear; instead, it erodes compassion and understanding.”
“Books nurture empathy in kids who are reading about people who don’t look like them. They build understanding.”
Each month, we provide Ms. readers with a list of new books being published by writers from historically excluded groups.
Many of this month’s list of recommended new books seem to align with the theme of liberation. I hope you’ll find something here that gets you thinking about liberation and, more importantly, inspires you to work towards liberation for all.
For those of us in so-called liberal states, what happens in our backyards is connected to the nationwide suppression of teaching about people of color, queer and trans folks, and women.
(To be featured in our “Banned! Voices From the Classroom” series, submit pitches and/or completed draft op-eds and reflections to Aviva Dove-Viebahn at adove-viebahn@msmagazine.com. Posts will be accepted on a rolling basis.)
Weekend Reading for Women’s Representation is a compilation of stories about women’s representation.
This week: Despite Women’s Equality Day celebrations, the disparities in women’s representation—particularly in employment, wages and government—are still significantly low compared to our male counterparts; the numerous Black suffragists forgotten by history: Mary Church Terrell, Frances Ellen Watkins Harper, Fannie Lou Hamer, Ida B. Wells, Alice Dunbar-Nelson, Fannie Barrier Williams, Sojourner Truth, Lugenia Burns Hope, Mary McLeod Bethune and Nannie Helen Burroughs; Democrat Debbie Mucarsel-Powell is running for Senate, posing a challenge to incumbent Republican Senator Rick Scott; and more.
Ms. Classroom wants to hear from educators and students being impacted by legislation attacking public education, higher education, gender and sexuality studies, activism and social justice in education, and diversity, equity and inclusion programs.
Submit pitches and/or completed draft op-eds and reflections (between 500-800 words) to Aviva Dove-Viebahn at adove-viebahn@msmagazine.com. Posts will be accepted on a rolling basis, with posting beginning in August 2023.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) continues to make headlines for his repeated, deliberate efforts to limit access to information.
These individual actions are part of a larger effort to upend educational rights in the state’s public school system and change the collective understanding of both the history and lived experience of the nation’s most marginalized groups.
Part of “Turning 50“—an exploration of women in hip-hop and their role in the feminist movement—here are 10 notable songs and five momentous albums from the last five decades, with in-text explainers from editor Janell Hobson.
