Our good friend Emily Scott was in Montgomery for the openings of the Legacy Museum and the National Memorial for Peace and Justice, followed by a two-day summit on racial justice. She wanted to share a few of her Facebook reflections and photos with our TWIWS readers:
The enormity of all that was experienced, learned, awakened is far greater than what the pithiness of Facebook allows. The speakers, the entertainers, the diverse and impassioned audience.
Rev. Dr. William Barber spoke of the juxtaposition of solemn essence of the opening with the celebration of the opening. He spoke of the quietness of the spirit, and the memorializing of the lynching then and creating a movement against lynching now.
Michelle Alexander, “Remembering our past is a critical part of birthing a new nation. We are on the river of rebellion, resistance, remaking.”
Brittany Packnett, “None of us are free until we are all free.”
Ava DuVernay said of the Memorial and the Museum that they are “drenched in blackness…informative for those who aren’t, intimate for those of us who are.”
Anna Deavere Smith encouraged the practice of “radical love” in activism.
As a privileged white woman, I have struggled to find my place in this movement towards Truth and Reconciliation. I have been encouraged and discouraged by every group. My guides/mentors have echoed Bryan Stevenson’s advice to be proximate and to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. Jacqueline Woodson (remarking at the diversity of the room that it was the opposite of TED) welcomed the “white allies” in the room which seems to be an apt descriptor.
I KNOW this: the doors to the house have been flung open and going back in the dark is not an option for me.
- The GOP is quietly crafting work requirement waivers — for white people. Washington Post
- A white man was caught on video ranting about employees speaking Spanish to customers at a coffee shop — and threatens to call immigration officers on everyone. Raw Story
- Inspired by Gaza killings, Ann Coulter proposes shooting immigrants trying to cross U.S. border illegally. Newsweek
- Dallas police are investigating the apparently unrelated deaths of two transgender women of color whose bodies were found within a span of four days. NBC News
- Senator Dianne Feinstein: “President Trump’s judicial nominees do not reflect our communities.” @SenFeinstein
- #RentingWhileBlack: A South Florida mother of three says she’s being kicked out of her apartment because she didn’t give her landlord an ultrasound of her pregnancy. The Root
- Keeven Robinson, the man who died during an arrest, was asphyxiated; death will be investigated as homicide. New Orleans Advocate
- This woman called the police on a Black family for having a BBQ. NowThis
- President Donald Trump referred to some deported immigrants as “animals” during a White House roundtable discussion on immigration policy. Daily Beast
- Georgia Police abuse 65 year old woman. CNN
- Black and Hispanic drivers and pedestrians stopped by police in Berkeley are searched “at much higher rates” than white ones, according to a report released this week by the Center for Policing Equity. Berkeleyside
- In America, calling 911 is still a privilege of being white. Slate
- ‘Protect and Serve Act’ would make police a protected class and violence against them a hate crime. The Root
- Tweet by Rogelio Garcia. @LawyerRogelio
- US attorney general considers ending asylum for domestic violence victims. SF Chronicle
- Nigerian woman kicked off United flight after white man complained she was ‘pungent’. Chicago Tribune
- Chief of Staff John Kelly, asked about separating migrant families at the border, tells NPR, “They don’t integrate well. They don’t have skills.” @GeoffRBennett
- Controversial US pastors take part in Jerusalem embassy opening. CNN
- Wisconsin’s Voter-ID Law Suppressed 200,000 Votes in 2016 (Trump Won by 22,748): A new study shows how voter-ID laws decreased turnout among African-American and Democratic voters. The Nation
- Surest way to face marijuana charges in New York: be Black or Hispanic. New York Times
- A second Black Yale University student has alleged that the same white student whom officers admonished this week for reporting a Black student asleep in a dorm common room called police months ago to report his presence in the building. CNN
- Congressman says it is un-American to acknowledge that racism exists. ThinkProgress
- White woman calls security on ‘suspicious man with a baby’ at park in Washington, DC. The Root
- Ex-FBI agent who called Islam “barbaric and evil” was allowed to train Texas law enforcement. Texas Tribune
- ICE claimed a Dreamer was “gang-affiliated” and tried to deport him. A federal judge ruled that ICE was lying. Slate
- The four Asian American journalists in DC most frequently mistaken for one another took a portrait together to prevent these errors. @timkmak
- Florida mom gets a 20 yr sentence for firing a warning shot at a burglar after he’d broke into her home while it was just her & her children there. The same Florida system allowed George Zimmerman to walk free after he chased down and murdered Trayvon Martin. @DerenicByrd
- PHOTO: The military moms Melania Trump hosted. @Brasilmagic
AND NOW FOR SOME GOOD NEWS
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry ask African-American bishop to give address at wedding.
New Chief Justice Wants to Improve Confidence in Judiciary
Spike Lee’s Passionate Anti-Trump Monologue at Cannes
Police Defend Black Real Estate Investor After White Woman Calls 911
A barista refused to serve a man ‘being very racist’ to a Muslim. Her bosses backed her.
From Susie Tompkins Buell:
- Self-proclaimed “trumpier than trump” Republican candidate for U.S. Senate Don Blankenship lost his primary. Mother Jones
- Congresswoman Maxine Waters did not let a group of white Republican men silence her from speaking her truth. #NotOneSecond NowThis
- 4-year-old Austin Perine uses his allowance to buy chicken sandwiches and delivers them to the homeless with the message — “Don’t forget to show love.” CBS News
- This year’s James Beard Awards were a victory for women and people of color. Grub Street
- Google and Facebook will no longer allow bail bonds services to advertise on their platforms. Axios
- Venture capital firm Backstage Capital launched a $36 million fund that will invest in black female founders. Fortune
- The LA County Museum of Art and ASU are establishing a program to help develop a new generation of diverse curators, directors and other museum professionals. New York Times
Read the full list and more from Susie Tompkins Buell’s The Rising, here.
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