Race Inquiry Digest (February 19) – Important Current Stories On Race In America

Feature – Why ‘Black Panther’ Is a Defining Moment for Black America. Ryan Coogler’s film is a vivid re-imagination of something black Americans have cherished for centuries — Africa as a dream of our wholeness, greatness and self-realization. Read more 

What The Heck Is Afrofuturism? Afrofuturism is the reimagining of a future filled with arts, science and technology seen through a black lens. Read more 

A Descendant of Robert E. Lee Speaks Out Against the Sin of White Supremacy. Robert Wright Lee IV at the MTV Video Music Awards on August 27, 2017 in Inglewood, California. Read more 

Revisiting Jefferson’s history as a slave owner. On a bitter cold January day in 1827, six months after Jefferson’s death, 130 of those enslaved at Monticello — “130 VALUABLE NEGROES,” the bill of sale published in a local newspaper proclaimed in boldface — were put up for auction on Monticello’s grand West Portico. Read more 

How California Is Blocking Native Americans From the Weed Business. As rules are rolled out for the world’s largest marijuana market, tribal governments say they’re being locked out of the industry. Read more 

What Laura Ingraham’s attack on LeBron James really means. The comments are the latest in a long history of black athletes being told to stick to sports and just shut up and play. Read more 

It’s Not Illegal Immigration That Worries Republicans Anymore. The Trump-era GOP cares more about the national origin and race of immigrants than the methods they used to enter the United States. Read more 

The Mystery Behind Frederick Douglass’s Birthday. Two hundred years ago, one of the 19th century’s most significant Americans began his life in anonymity and bondage. Read more 

“I Want Four Years Where I’m Not Judged by the Color of My Skin.” Why America’s black colleges are as important now as they ever were. Tell Them We Are Rising, a new documentary by veteran filmmaker Stanley Nelson Premiers on PBS on Monday, February 19. Read more  

Why the Right Wing Is So Interested in Narrowing Down Education into ‘Skills.’  Mike Rose, a research professor in Education and Information Studies at UCLA and the author of Back to School, argues that narrowing what students learn also means controlling what they’re exposed to, and what they’re likely to demand after graduation. Read more 

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