The Creators of Florida’s Black History Standards Get an F on Their Homework
James Forten (1766-1842), cited by Florida policymakers as a Black man who acquired shoemaking skills under slavery, was neither a shoemaker nor a slave, historians say.Historical Society of Pennsylvania via Wikipedia Commons/Public Domain Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.Florida education officials and the state’s…
A Construction Worker Was Accused of Being on Drugs. Then He Died of Heatstroke.
Lynne Sladky/AP This story was originally published by the Guardian and is reproduced here as part of the Climate Desk collaboration. The mother of a 24-year-old worker who died from heatstroke while working for a construction firm in San Antonio, Texas, has filed a lawsuit against his employer. Gabriel Infante was working for B Comm Constructors in San Antonio, Texas, on June 23…
The End of Russia and Ukraine’s Grain Deal Is Bad News For The Global Food Supply
A worker cleans grain after trucks unloaded in a grain elevator in Melitopol, Ukraine.AP Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.In July 2022, the United Nations and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan helped broker the Black Sea Grain Initiative: A deal between Russia and Ukraine…
“Oppenheimer” Is a Good Film That Bolsters a Problematic Narrative
Cillian Murphy as the physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer. Courtesy of Universal Studios Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.There is much to admire in Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer, which opens in theaters on Friday. The directing, script, editing, sound design and acting are all extraordinary. Nolan…
Florida Board of Education’s New Guidelines Imply Slavery Benefitted Black People
Charlie Neibergall/ AP Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.The Florida Board of Education’s new standards dictating how Black history will be taught in public schools includes a provision implying that enslaved African-Americans learned skills for “their own personal benefit.” The guidelines, approved on Wednesday,…
It’s Time to Let Cyclists Use Crosswalks
Joshua Rawson Harris/Unsplash; Getty Fight disinformation: Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters.Sometimes, my rage gets the better of me. To bike into downtown Denver, I need to take a left at a dangerous intersection. Despite being labeled as “cyclist friendly” by Google Maps, the crossing has…