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Here’s your week in review, in haiku.
It ain’t his fault that
he is out here breaking news;
Gotta blame it on
the clues; some folks blame
it on the booze. Heard you say
she is the baddest
bitch: Be Best! She’s
a very happy girl, she
don’t even gotta
try! It’s all his fault
that his IPO’s unglued,
also getting sued
Maybe blame it on
The Juul? Pudding please meet proof:
Now come get your man
We hope everyone gonna shine this weekend. Thanks to Lizzo for the musical inspiration.
Ellen.McGirt@fortune.com
@ellmcgirt
On Point
The Root 100 is here The annual list of the most influential African Americans from ages 25 to 45 is always an inspiring read, and I’ll let you know right now that Stacey Abrams gets the top spot. (Great, since this is the last year she can qualify for the list.) Lizzo, the inspiration behind this week’s haikus, is at number 3, and activist Oronike Odeleye, who “co-led the #MuteRKelly movement all the way to the courthouse,” shows up at number 5. I’ll let you wander around yourselves, there’s only good news ahead. Do bring tissues for number 2, get your heart pumping for number eleven, and get ready to give another well-deserved round of applause for number twenty one, for making sure the truth will finally set us free. Enjoy.
The Root
The American Medical Association declares violence against transgender people ‘an epidemic’ There have been 18 known killings of transgender people so far this year, most of them are women of color. In nearly every case the targeting and violence was unmistakable. Transgender people and their communities are both deeply fearful and desperate for help. “It’s always in the forefront of our minds, when we’re leaving home, going to work, going to school,” one Memphis-based woman tells the New York Times. “We are the most afraid we’ve ever been,” said Mariah Moore, a program associate for the Transgender Law Center. She sums up the work this way: “I want us to live in a world,” she said, “where we don’t have to worry about walking out of our front doors and being killed because someone doesn’t understand who we are.” Please read and share.
New York Times
British broadcasters unite in support of colleague sanctioned for calling a Trump remark ‘racist’ Naga Munchetty, the co-host of BBC Breakfast, was asked by her on-air colleague to comment on President Trump’s July 19 tweet enjoining four U.S. congresswomen to “go back to the totally broken and crime-infested places from which they came.” She’d had similar experiences, and then said, “That was embedded in racism. Now, I’m not accusing anyone of anything here, but you know what certain phrases mean.” On Wednesday, BBC’s Editorial Complaints Unit (ECU) found her remarks to be a breach of their programming guidelines. In response, more than 60 U.K. journalists signed a public letter decrying the decision, “assert[ing] that it amounts to both a misunderstanding of the BBC’s editorial guidelines, and a form of racially discriminatory treatment towards BAME people who work on programming.” It’s worth a read. For communities and individuals who experience racist abuse—including Munchetty—being expected to treat racist ideas as potentially valid has devastating and maybe illegal consequences for our dignity and ability to work in a professional environment…”
The Guardian
The New York Times updates its bestseller lists to include graphic novels and other works The loud “snikt” and “twifts” you just heard are coming from comic book fans thrilled that their favorite (and increasingly inclusive) medium is being recognized for the publishing force that it is. It’s great for readers, educators, and writers, alike. “We are thrilled to bring back to our readers graphic books and mass market best sellers as two monthly best-seller lists,” said the editor of the Book Review. They’ll be including hardcover, paper, and digital properties, too. Click through for other additions, like my favorite category, middle grade fiction.
New York Times
On Background
A new study shows that Latinx are a force within the U.S. economy The study, which was sponsored by Latino Donor Collaborative (LDC), examines the economic impact of the Latinx population along 71 industries and crunched this number: If the “Latino GDP” were a country, it would be the 8th largest in the world, generating some $2.3 trillion. LDC chair Sol Trujillo breaks it down in this recent Wall Street Journal op-ed, with a detailed analysis of the labor market and economy, and this call to action. “Latinos in the U.S. are like cavalry coming over the hill to support the economy and sustain growth through coming decades,” he says. “The task for U.S. policy makers is to allow this trend to continue strengthening the country at large.”
Wall Street Journal
Evidently, white supremacists tried to seize the U.S. government in 1898 This is the story of a largely unknown coup d’état, a long-forgotten episode of American history, perpetrated by a gang of white-supremacist Democrats from Wilmington, N.C. who were outraged by the recently elected biracial Republican Congress. They were prepared “to choke the Cape Fear River with carcasses,” if necessary. They managed to take over the government of Wilmington and may have killed as many as 60 Black men. It’s known locally as the massacre that nobody talks about, of course. “Wilmington on Fire,” a documentary film by Christopher Everett, tells the tale. The New Yorker
A letter to a former enslaver, written just as it was dictated Trust me, it will make you <slow clap emoji>. In August of 1865, Jourdon Anderson, a free person living in Ohio, sent a note to his former enslaver, Colonel P.H. Anderson, in response to the outrageous request that he return to Tennessee and “work” for him again. “Sir, I got your letter, and was glad to find that you had not forgotten Jourdon,” he begins. He then notes that he was surprised to hear from him. “I thought the Yankees would have hung you long before this, for harboring Rebs they found at your house. I suppose they never heard about your going to Colonel Martin’s to kill the Union soldier that was left by his company in their stable. Although you shot at me twice before I left you, I did not want to hear of your being hurt, and am glad you are still living.” It gets better from there. Much.
Project Gutenberg
Tamara El-Waylly helps write and produce raceAhead.
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