The function, the very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being. Somebody says you have no language and you spend twenty years proving that you do. Somebody says your head isn’t shaped properly so you have scientists working on the fact that it is. Somebody says you have no art, so you dredge that up. Somebody says you have no kingdoms, so you dredge that up. None of this is necessary. There will always be one more thing. – Toni Morrison
- President Trump called El Salvador, Haiti ‘shithole countries.’
- Take it from a former Division I athlete: College sports are like Jim Crow.
- White racial resentment has been gaining political power for decades.
- Donald Trump’s racism: the definitive list.
- Puerto Rican storm refugees in Connecticut facing eviction.
- In Los Angeles, Temporary Protected Status is a gathering storm.
- King’s speech on white supremacy.
- Tweet by Congressman Steve King.
- These 9 current members of Congress voted against MLK Day.
- In Trump’s remarks, Black churches see a nation backsliding.
- Ukip leader’s girlfriend’s racist Meghan Markle messages.
- 52 harms in 52 weeks: how the Trump administration hurt communities of color in 2017.
- What did the men with Donald Trump do when he spoke of ‘shithole countries’?
- Alleged slur sayer, spitter, Nazi invoker arrested in Downtown Portland.
- Trump asked why the US needs more Haitians. Mar-a-Lago may hold the answer.
- White employees from the Oklahoma City Government fired after being recorded calling King Day “Nigger Day.”
- Tweet by Khaled Beydoun.
- JACL condemns use of Japanese American mass incarceration in defending student accused of sexual misconduct.
- Trump’s Medicaid work requirements could put at least 6.3 million Americans at risk of losing health care.
- Median wealth of Black Americans ‘will fall to zero by 2053’, warns new report.
- White supremacist murders more than doubled in 2017.
MORE GOOD NEWS, VICTORIES & HEROES
- Senator Dianne Feinstein heroically exposes the truth by releasing an interview that Fusion GPS founder Glenn Simpson gave the Senate Judiciary Committee. Fusion GPS is responsible for hiring the former British intelligence officer behind the now infamous Russia dossier. NPR
- Robert Mueller has added veteran cybersecurity prosecutor Ryan K. Dickey to his special counsel team. Daily Beast
- Kamala Harris and Cory Booker have been appointed to the Senate Judiciary Committee, making them the 2nd and 3rd African-Americans to ever serve on the committee in its 200+ year history. Fortune
- California Representative Ed Royce announced his retirement earlier this week — adding to the list of 29 open House seats held by Republicans. Democrats need to gain 24 seats to capture the majority. Washington Post
- A federal court has ordered North Carolina lawmakers to redraw the state’s highly gerrymandered congressional map. New York Times
- A San Francisco-based U.S. District Court judge has blocked tRUMP’s wind-down of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program — ordering the administration to resume accepting renewal applications. Politico
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg isn’t going anywhere — the Supreme Court Justice has hired a full slate of clerks through 2020. Newsweek
- Oprah became the first black woman to receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award. Los Angeles Times
- Comedian Sarah Silverman responded to a troll’s vile comment with compassion and kindness — “I believe in you. I read ur timeline & I see what ur doing & your rage is thinly veiled pain.” The Lily
- San Francisco has passed a policy that would allow sex workers to report crimes of sexual assault, rape, and any other crimes without the risk of being arrested. San Francisco Chronicle
- Walmart announced that it will begin providing parental leave for all full-time employees. USA Today
- New York Governor Cuomo is fighting for full minimum wage for tipped food-service workers. New York Post
- Belize has passed a law to end oil exploration in its waters. Putting in place protections for the Belize Barrier Reef — the largest barrier reef in the western hemisphere and home to almost 1,400 species. WWF-UK
- “It’s an epic day” — 2018 marks the start of a new era for California as marijuana is now legal for recreational use for adults 21+. SFGate
To read more from Susie Tompkins Buell’s The Rising, click here.
Send any items you find to: ThisWeekinWhiteSupremacy@equaljusticesociety.org