It’s been 19 years since the 9/11 attacks forever changed the social and political fabric of the U.S.. On the anniversary of the attacks, feminists are mourning the tragedy, while also reflecting on our current convergence of crises, including racial injustice and a pandemic that has taken 50 times the number of lives lost in the 9/11 attacks—while receiving only a fraction of the government attention and response that the attacks received.
Tag: Black Lives Matter
Teachers Face Backlash Over Black Lives Matter Posters
As the new school year begins in the midst of the pandemic, students and teachers are adjusting to a multitude of changes, with districts nationwide shifting to distance learning systems. But in addition to coping with remote instruction, many teachers are trying to address the summer of protests for racial justice in their classrooms. And some of them are being persecuted for it.
Scholar Strike Aims to Highlight Racial Injustice Through Digital Teach-In
As part of an inaugural Scholar Strike, U.S. professors are withdrawing from classrooms to engage in accessible, digital education surrounding anti-Blackness and police brutality on Sept. 8 and 9.
The Educational Value of a Black Teacher
The coronavirus is offering a chance to ‘reimagine’ education, but if the new landscape doesn’t include efforts to recruit and retain more Black teachers, reform will be a farce.
If the purpose of education reform is to boost students’ academic outcomes, reduce suspensions, raise expectations, and even recruit (less racist) teachers into the profession, research suggests that increasing the number of Black teachers should be part of any serious strategy.
While Praising the NBA Strike, Don’t Forget How WNBA Players Paved The Way
Headlines last week portrayed NBA players as the activist leaders in the sports world and reduced WNBA players to mere followers of their male counterparts’ actions.
But on the whole, the WNBA has consistently and collectively been on the forefront of social justice issues for years now.
Women’s leadership—particularly Black women’s leadership—in the WNBA is too often left out of headlines about activism in professional sports.
“We know what it was like to stand up, even against public opinion.”
Homeboy Industries Offers Hope For Women and Men Caught Up in Criminal Justice System
As many people start to reimagine criminal justice and public safety, Homeboy Industries, an LA-based nonprofit, is setting a powerful example of what the justice system could look like if rehabilitation was prioritized over mass incarceration.
‘Welcome To History’: MLK’s Legacy Lives on in March for Black Lives
Thousands of Americans of all races came from far and wide Friday on the 57th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom for a slightly different kind of march.
“For so many of us, to say that the march was empowering is to make the experience too simple, too light. To be in one place with so many Black people of different hues, religions, regional dialects standing in solidarity and single purpose was life changing. For my younger friends, it also brought to life the photos in history books.”
57 Years Later, Thousands Protest Racial Injustice at 2020 March on Washington
Exactly 57 years after the first March on Washington and 65 years after the murder of Emmett Till, demonstrators are coming together once more to protest against police brutality and racial discrimination.
“Bad Dads” and the Policing of Black Parenthood
Abby Johnson, notable anti-abortion advocate and recent RNC speaker, said that it would be “smart” for a police officer to racially profile her Black adopted son, and says over-incarceration of Black men is the result of “bad dads.”
Like the “welfare queen” myth, the “bad dad” stereotype is based on the stereotyping of Black people as lazy and unfit—and it’s a stereotype not grounded in fact.
But aside from her statistical misinterpretations, Johnson’s statements raise questions about her own position as a (racist) white parent raising a Black child, and the ways in which interracial adoption can negatively affect a child.
Jacob Blake’s Sister, Letetra Widman: “I Don’t Want Your Pity. I Want Change.”
Letetra Widman highlighted the broader impact of systemic racism around Blake’s shooting—one that the families of murdered Black Americans have been highlighting for a long, long time.
“When you say the name Jacob Blake, make sure you say father, make sure you say cousin, make sure you say son, make sure you say uncle. But most importantly, make sure you say human. Human life. Let it marinate in your mouth and your minds. A human life. Just like every single one of you all and everywhere … We’re human. His life matters.”