Tag Archives: race

Pushing protest outdoors in Tennessee

Tennessee state representatives Tennessee State Representatives Justin Pearson, Justin Jones, and Gloria Johnson (l-r above) broke the rules. In the wake of the most a recent mass shooting at a Christian school in Nashville, protesters filled the chamber’s galleries and … Continue reading

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What a guilty verdict can’t do

Almost everyone exhaled. A jury convicted the former police officer who murdered George Floyd, and everyone in the United States must have been tuned in. It was an extremely unusual verdict; criminal prosecution of police violence against Black men is … Continue reading

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Park protests to push politics and participation

If I had a nickle for every current state legislator I could name, I’d have to borrow money to get an afternoon coffee. But I know who Park Cannon is. Representing Georgia’s 58th district in the state legislature since 2016, … Continue reading

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(More) conservative protest in the pre-post-Trump era: storming the Capitol.

The chaotic insurrection effort at the Capitol building today showed that 14 more days is far too long for Donald Trump to continue to serve as president. As promised, Trump showed up early in the day to speak at a … Continue reading

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An athletes’ boycott is a strike for racial justice.

It’s not like the racial justice protests stopped; they just stopped getting as much attention, particularly if activists were disciplined and not destructive. And racialized police violence certainly didn’t stop, as the taped police shooting of Jacob Blake in Kenosha, … Continue reading

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Trump and the battle of Portland

The president of the United States is ready to sacrifice Portland, Oregon–to say nothing of the US Constitution–to buy into a longshot strategy for winning reelection. Portland, like virtually every city in the United States, has seen large and somewhat … Continue reading

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Mourning heroes

John Lewis is dead. So is C. T. Vivian. Our heroes are mortal, and their passing hurts, particularly now when moral courage and civic action seem more important than ever. There is some consolation in knowing that Rep. Lewis and … Continue reading

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Putting activists and authorities on alert and cultivating allies

One round of activism can clear the way for the next one–even by other people–to make larger gains. The wave of protests against racialized police violence has already effectively promoted changes. It started with the arrests and indictments of the … Continue reading

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NASCAR, race, and the Confederate flag–plus a query about Great Neck South

NASCAR (National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing) officials announced a ban on the Confederate Battle Flag at its events.  At  once,  the  decision  was  a response  to nation-wide demonstrations sparked by the police killing of George Floyd. The organization … Continue reading

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Statuary impacts: complex causality, the limits of social science, and striking Gen. Lee’s statue

In the wake of a dozen days and nights of protest against racialized police violence, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam ordered the removal of a statue of General Robert E. Lee, that has loomed over the state capital’s Monument Park for … Continue reading

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