Quick Reads

Each item is a link to a short, interesting article.

• White Affirmative Action, 2017. In this episode of “Scene on Radio” (47:58), journalist John Biewen, with others, describes the U.S. government programs, through American history (starting before the US existed) that have earmarked advantages for the benefit of white folks.
• Rising Black Artists to Watch in 2022 and 28 Black Musicians Whose Names You Should Know These two articles introduce contemporary Black musicians from a wide rang of musical forms, including R&B, hip-hop, jazz, and so on. Posted 02/01/2024.
• 12 Black Contemporary Composers You Should Listen To, 2023 and 10 Of The Greatest Black Composers Of All Time, 2023. These two articles introduce Black composers, from both contemporary and historical perspectives. Posted 01/29/2024.
• 10 Surprising Facts About Martin Luther King, Jr., 2024. The article describes a collection of little-known facts about Dr. King. Posted 10/17/2024.
• Home Coming, Rosalind Cummings-Yeates, 2024. The article is about “Roots to Glory, an organization working to connect African Americans with the lands and cultures their ancestors were forced to leave. Posted 01/15/2024.
• The Urgency of Intersectionality, 2016. In this TEDTalk (18:40), Kimberle Crenshaw, who coined the term “intersectionality,” explains how individuals can be subject to multiple forms of exclusion. Posted 12/4/2023.
• 8 Historical Moments More Important to Native Americans than the “First Thanksgiving,” 2023. Read about 8 historical events between 1619 and 1987 that Native American historians have identified as important than stories about the 1621 gathering between colonists and Native Americans. Posted 12/4/2023.
• Nobody Taught You In School That These Were Invented By Black inventors, 2023. For Juneteenth, watch this short video (19:02) and learn about a collection of Black inventors you’ve probably never heard of. Article posted on June 16, 2023. Thanks to Tyrone Clarence for recommending this video.
• Remarks at the Cleveland City Club, Robert F. Kennedy, 1968. Speaking on May 5, 1968, the day after Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered, then presidential candidate Kennedy described the “mindless menace of violence” including the “violence of institutions” and the importance of “true justice among our fellow citizens. His message remains relevant in 2023. Article posted 5/5/2023.
• On Crazy We Built a Nation, Biewen, 2017. This is an audio podcast (36:30). Learn about the “dueling characters” that have existed throughout US history and the “Make America Great” connection between the Founders and the present day. Podcast posted 3/29/2023.
• Home Coming, Rosalind Cummings-Yeates, 2024. The article is about “Roots to Glory, an organization working to connect African Americans with the lands and cultures their ancestors were forced to leave. Posted 01/15/2024.
• The Urgency of Intersectionality, 2016. In this TEDTalk (18:40), Kimberle Crenshaw, who coined the term “intersectionality,” explains how individuals can be subject to multiple forms of exclusion. Posted 12/4/2023.
• 8 Historical Moments More Important to Native Americans than the “First Thanksgiving,” 2023. Read about 8 historical events between 1619 and 1987 that Native American historians have identified as important than stories about the 1621 gathering between colonists and Native Americans. Posted 12/4/2023.
• Nobody Taught You In School That These Were Invented By Black inventors, 2023. For Juneteenth, watch this short video (19:02) and learn about a collection of Black inventors you’ve probably never heard of. Article posted on June 16, 2023. Thanks to Tyrone Clarence for recommending this video.
• Remarks at the Cleveland City Club, Robert F. Kennedy, 1968. Speaking on May 5, 1968, the day after Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered, then presidential candidate Kennedy described the “mindless menace of violence” including the “violence of institutions” and the importance of “true justice among our fellow citizens. His message remains relevant in 2023. Article posted 5/5/2023.
• On Crazy We Built a Nation, Biewen, 2017. This is an audio podcast (36:30). Learn about the “dueling characters” that have existed throughout US history and the “Make America Great” connection between the Founders and the present day. Podcast posted 3/29/2023.
• How Neighborhoods Used Restrictive Housing Covenants to Block Nonwhite Families, Evans, 2022. Read how racially restrictive covenants began after the Great Migration of the early 20th century and continue to the present. Article posted 2/27/2023.
• From Jan 6 to Tyre Nichols, American Life is Still Defined by Caste, Wilkerson, 2023. Read how the author uses “caste” to understand recent events including book bans, abortion restrictions, the 1/6 insurrection, and police killings of you Black people. Article posted 2/27/2023.
• Who’s Afraid of Black History, Gates 2023. Read the author’s thoughts about the “long tradition of bitter, politically suspect battles” about 3 important periods in US history: the Civil War, Reconstruction and the “redemption” that followed. Article posted 2/18/2023.
• All Rise: A Response to Racial Injustice, Marsalis, 2020. Read about the author’s view of the “cacophony of crazy” and the critical need for all of us to reject injustice with consistent and “relentless individual action.”
• Indian Country’s Right to say No, Martin, 2021. Read about the “basic right to consultation” that tribal nations should have – the right held by any sovereign nation. Article posted 1/17/2023.
• How Race Turns up the Volume on Incivility, Westin, 2009. Read about unconscious bias in discussions of race and ways to counter unconscious bias. Article posted 12/10/2022.
• What would America be like without Blacks, Ellison, 1970. Read how the author of Invisible Man answers the question in the title of this essay. Article posted 11/29/22.
• Grief and the white void, Lateiner, 2017. Read how the author is using “white grief” in social justice work. Article posted 11/14/2022
• The curb-cut effect, Blackwell, 2017. Read how “curb-cut thinking” can benefit everyone. Article posted 11/14/2022.
• A Christian Call for Reparations, Brown Douglas, 2020. Read about 3 key aspects of reparations as part of the “pathway to a just future.” Article posted 11/22/2022.