Kamala Was a Cop. Black People Knew It First.
Kamala Harris, then California’s attorney general, with Long Beach Police Chief Jim McDonnell (left), Los Angeles Deputy Police Chief Michel Moore, and Los Angeles interim County Sheriff John Scott at a 2014 event. AP Photo/Nick Ut In a roundtable discussion hosted by Blavity in October, Sen. Kamala Harris briefly addressed the meme that had beset…
This Thanksgiving Marks 50 Years Since Natives Occupied Alcatraz. They Want You to Remember Why.
The American Indian Movement flag flies with an upside down American flag at sunrise on Alcatraz Island on Nov. 28, 2019. Delilah Friedler For most Americans, Thanksgiving is a holiday. We come together with family and friends to express gratitude by feasting, drinking, and arguing. We re-tell an old story: that in 1621, European settlers gathered with members of…
Here’s Why Neighborhoods With More People of Color Pay Higher Energy Bills
The Alfred E. Smith Houses, a public housing development built and maintained by the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA), in the Lower East Side of Manhattan, April 26, 2018.Drew Angerer/Getty This piece was originally published in CityLab and appears here as part of our Climate Desk Partnership. It is well-established that the lower a family’s…
Here’s What to Say to Racist Family Members During the Holidays
Mother Jones illustration It’s holiday season! Which means it’s time to have some potentially awkward conversations with family, on top of the usual awkward conversations that dredge up old resentments and new disappointments. Lots has already been written about today’s polarized political climate, and if they want, people can more or less successfully avoid being…
Michael Bloomberg Apologizes for “Stop and Frisk” Just a Few Months After Defending It
Thibault Camus/AP Since leaving office in 2013, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg has consistently backed his police department’s “stop and frisk” program in which black and Latino people were nine times more likely to be stopped by police than white people, all in an effort to reduce crime. As recently as January of this…
Colin Kaepernick’s Workout Day Was a Total Shitshow, Even by NFL Standards
Colin Kaepernick at the workout Saturday Todd Kirkland/AP Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who became the object of intense conservative criticism for kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality and discrimination against African Americans, was set to hit the field this weekend, with a highly anticipated showcase to pave the way for his…