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This article talks about how racism is still here today and it is srt of because of the fact that is is passed down. If it wasn't taught it wouldn't be around today. We would be further in progress than we are today.

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The stories of police brutality and discrimination against African Americans this year are similar to those of 20 years ago, writes the BBC's Clive Myrie. A new breed of civil rights activist is trying to bring about a reckoning with America's racist past.

I remember my first US presidential election well. My first taste up close of the mechanics of the most powerful democracy on earth, grinding into gear to fulfill the promise of its people, that all their voices matter and will be heard. That ordinary people can control their own destiny.

The year was 1996 and those were relatively innocent times. Left and right, Democrat and Republican, liberal and conservative - they tended to try to work together to find the common ground upon which they could stand, rather than exploit and widen the fissures that might separate, in order to gain political advantage.

In those heady days, when co-operation was more often the norm than a rarity, there were clear understandings on the need to improve race relations. An understanding that America was still failing to uphold its own ideals. Can we truly say there is a clear understanding of that now? An appreciation of the inequality of American society when it comes to race and discrimination?

I'm hopeful we can still say that, but it took the brutal death of George Floyd to jolt Americans from a position of seeming complacency, where a president could feel confident enough to say that "there are very fine people on both sides" after anti-racism protesters clashed with a group of white supremacists in Charlottesville in 2017.

Why is racism still such a problem for the most powerful country on earth?

You'd think a Civil War might have been the last word on the issue. The slave holding states of the Old South did battle with the northern states in 1861, fighting for the right to extend slavery into the vast lands of the West as America grew. The South lost and President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation freed the slaves.

But the South was never admonished for having slaves in the first place. History quickly rewrote the Civil War as a "quarrel between brothers".

For the North, what was vital was re-admitting the old Confederacy back into the bosom of the family. Racist views and bigotry - no problem, just don't disturb the Union.

There was no attempt to change the hearts of Southern racists. In fact, as long as the Union remained intact, racists could act as they pleased. They could lynch, and loot and burn. They could murder and rape. They could threaten and intimidate. They could bully.

Hence the rise of segregation, the intimidation of black voters, indeed the denial of the right to vote for black people. And through it all, the mindset was left untroubled - the notion that white might is right, and black people should be treated as second-class citizens.

Of course, that mindset was embedded deep in many of the nation's police forces, which grew out of groups set up to catch runaway blacks slaves as well as maintain law and order.

It's the mindset that led President Woodrow Wilson, in office from 1913 to 1921, to oversee the re-segregation of multiple federal agencies. This is the same president who publicly backed the Ku Klux Klan.

It's the mindset that at the turn of the 20th Century saw the vilification of black people as wide-eyed "happy negroes" content with their lot as poor share croppers and shoe shiners.

It's the mindset that saw the erection of hundreds of Confederate statues of Southern civil war leaders, that are now the subject of controversy today. Men venerated as patriots, when they fought a war to break up the Union - men who should have been treated as traitors, not heroes.

Ah, I hear you cry. All that is ancient history, things have changed.

It is easy for white Americans to compartmentalise the past. To see the injustices of yesteryear as having no relevance to events today. African Americans don't have that luxury. The past is the present, the racism is the same.

I know this because having reported from America for nearly a quarter of a century, I'm seeing the same stories of police brutality, discrimination in housing and jobs, and black voter suppression, as I saw back in Los Angeles in the 1990s.

Suspicious deaths in police custody followed by rudimentary inquiries, followed usually by the exoneration of the officers involved. It's a pathetic cycle of indulgence that allows, even condones and encourages, bad behaviour.

There's another example of the past being the present.

I've already mentioned my first US presidential election in 1996. It was a blowout for Bill Clinton against a hapless Bob Dole for the Republicans.

A big issue in the campaign was urban crime and the Clinton administration's controversial 1994 Crime Bill that critics say increased mass incarceration and led to the disproportionate jailing of tens of thousands of black men. Joe Biden helped get that legislation on the books, and his involvement has come back to haunt him.

It's meant some African Americans view the Democratic Party candidate suspiciously, despite his time serving eight years as vice-president to Barack Obama. And it's part of the reason a minority of African American men say they'll vote for Donald Trump in this election.

Polls suggest African Americans overwhelmingly back Democrats in elections. But in the 2016 race for the White House, many failed to show up at the polls for Hilary Clinton, choosing instead to stay at home, and thereby helping to hand Donald Trump the presidency.

I've been talking to a new breed of young, engaged African American civil rights activist, fired up to turn out the vote. People like Percy Christian in Phoenix, Arizona, arrested on a peaceful civil rights March and jailed for seven days.

He says he's committed to fighting for a better future for black people and will continue to take to the streets.

"I'm willing to do whatever it takes. I'm willing to put my life on the line to raise awareness about the issue that police brutality is real... that the system is set up and designed to hold a certain group of individuals back and that's my people," he told me.

Another activist, Jazlyn Geiger, who's 21, told me that the fear of a bad encounter with the police lives in the mind of every African American.

"It makes me think my life can be taken at any given time, just because I have brown skin, because I'm black, because since I was a little girl I've seen the way black people in America are treated and all over the world. It's a really unsettling state of mind to be in."

These are the people multiplied by millions in this country, who could swing this election. Committed and determined to have their voice heard, so that the next election doesn't have to go over the same old ground, when it comes to race.

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US election 2020: Why racism is still a problem for the world's most powerful country

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The stories of police brutality and discrimination against African Americans this year are similar to those of 20 years ago, writes the BBC's Clive Myrie. A new breed of civil rights activist is trying to bring about a reckoning with America's racist past. I remember my first US presidential election well.

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In the article it explains that history is not written in strictly black and white. It is all tied together in some way and no one should be against each other. It says how moving our past biases and history on the past because it is in the past for a reason. We need to move forward but we really are stuck in the same place and change needs to be made.

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Longtime NFL tight end Benjamin Watson is among many athletes who took to social media to express grief over last week's national tragedies: the deaths of Alton Sterling, 37, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile, 32, of Falcon Heights, Minnesota, at the hands of police, and the five police officers killed and seven wounded in Dallas by a sniper. A thoughtful, frequent commentator on social issues, Watson is horrified by the loss of life and the nation's deep racial divide, but remains hopeful that unity still can be achieved through dialogue.
Weren't we all just enjoying the Fourth of July? It seems like it was so long ago now. I was at a family reunion in Washington, D.C., celebrating what we love about this country. Then, fast-forward a week later, we're back here again trying to make sense of everything after all these killings. The past week has been tough for all of us, horrible for all of us, because we've been here way too many times.

Athletes lend their voice to a cause It just shows the turmoil that this country is in. Our everyday life has changed over the last few years. So many events - Eric Garner [a New York resident who died at the hands of police], the unrest in Ferguson [Missouri], Tamir Rice [a 12-year-old Cleveland boy shot and killed by police] - have us now feeling like this is expected. The sad thing is that many of us expect this to be the norm.

Whether it's an international or domestic terrorist-involved event, problems between police officers and citizens or, now, police officers being massacred, it's all really sad to watch, and my heart goes out to the families. And it's also painful to see what it means for our country as we try to figure everything out and move forward. We have some serious problems in this country. We've had serious problems for a long time, and everything is coming to a head now.

When you talk about racism, when you talk about black and white and how we see things totally differently, it's bad. That's obvious. We view the world through our own lens and our own biases. How many of us don't even want to put our feet in someone else's shoes because we're so ingrained in what we think? That's a problem.

It's most evident when you have a situation like we had in Baton Rouge or Minnesota. ... I hate to even use the terms "they" or "white America" or "black America," but for the sake of conversation I will. What we're seeing on social media and what we're seeing with what I posted [ on Facebook] is that the Black Lives Matter [movement] is offensive to some white people.

Their response, they're saying 'All Lives Matter' is only said when people say that black lives matter. It's like they're saying, 'You black people don't care about everyone else, so since you only care about your own, we're gonna care about our own.' They use that response in what seems to be a sarcastic and condescending way, to kind of dismiss the very real hurt and pain that black people have felt for generations in response to things that have happened in this country with some law enforcement officers. This isn't just about right now. We're talking about years and years. We're talking about ongoing problems throughout the country's history.

But to say that black lives matter doesn't mean that other lives don't matter. No one means that your life doesn't matter. This isn't the best [analogy], but it's like when groups try to save the whales. Their motto isn't 'We only care about whales and no other animals.' All they're saying is that because of things that have happened, because of problems that have occurred over a long, long time, that this group, the whales, needs some more attention right now. They're saying that some things have to be done differently because they should be done differently. It's the right thing to do.

What we're saying is that there has been a pattern of things happening that makes black people feel like their lives don't matter because they're not treated the way other people are. There's definitely a disconnect there. And I try to put myself in the shoes of someone who's white who hears that.

Hopefully, when I do, and other black people do, there's a humility there, and it comes across, that drops their guard a little bit to then hear what I'm saying and other black people are saying. And if that happens then maybe, just maybe, we can understand each other, if even just for a second, and that can lead to more discussion.

The chance to get people talking is a big reason why I wrote the book ( Under Our Skin, Getting Real About Race - And Getting Free From The Fears And Frustrations That Divide Us). And after writing the book, I've had great discussions with some white people.

With brothers in my church, my white brothers in my church, it has been a lot better, in terms of getting talking and understanding each other. But it's not going to be perfect. Obviously, I'm not white. I can't totally understand their feelings because I'm not white. They can't totally understand mine because they're not black. But if we can start talking and keep talking, we can start to understand each other better, which is the key to coming together.

Unfortunately, too often, when athletes get involved in these important issues, when we engage in things other than our sport, there's this idea that we shouldn't. There's this feeling that it's not our place. What you hear is, 'These guys are here to entertain us, so they should just stick to that.' I've gotten that a lot. People say I need to just mind my business and stick to playing football. Just shut up and focus on scoring touchdowns.

But if athletes share their views, and if they match up with what people who usually tell them to be quiet are saying, then they'll put those athletes on a pedestal. They'll hold them up as an example to their kids because they feel they have things in common. It's like they're saying, 'You see the world the same way I do, so you're OK.' As soon as you don't, though, shut up again.

There's a lot that's wrong about that thinking. Athletes are citizens of this country. We have children. We pay taxes. We vote. We do all the things that everyone else does. Our job is to play a sport. I play football. That's my job - but that's not who I am.

We have the same interest in what's going on in this country. We have the same hopes and dreams for our families and our children. We're Americans. We love this country. We want the best for it. We want to engage in a way that's positive and move America forward just like anyone else would.

After saying all of that, though, the problems can get better. I believe that. Yes, there is a discrepancy with arrest rates. Not everyone has the same opportunities available to them. Racism is bigger than one person. It's about a system. And that's something that's very complex.

But we do live in a place where there is great opportunity. And it's incumbent upon all of us to take advantage of the opportunities that we have, whatever they are. Even if the opportunity you have may be less than what somebody else has, you have to make the most of it.

Ultimately, though, it comes down to a change of heart. One day, maybe we could be in a place where everything is equal. But even if we have equal opportunity - black kids and white kids all go to the same school, everything is equal with jobs, the criminal justice system, etc. - we could still not like each other and hear each other. Although we could be in the same space all the time, we would still have biases unless we repent of the sin that is racism.
Watson just signed a deal in March with the Baltimore Ravens. In 2004, he was drafted in the first round, out of Georgia, by the New England Patriots. That year, he won the Super Bowl. Watson studied finance and is tied for the third-highest score on the Wonderlic test. After six seasons with New England, he reunited with coach Eric Mangini in Cleveland. He signed with the New Orleans Saints after three seasons in Cleveland. Watson has amassed 434 receptions, 4,963 yards and 38 touchdowns in his career. His best two seasons were 2010 and 2015, when he caught 68 passes for 763 yards and three scores, and 74 receptions for 825 yards and six touchdowns, respectively. Besides being one of three finalists for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, Watson was also a Pro Bowl alternate last season.
Jason Reid is the senior NFL writer at The Undefeated. He enjoys watching sports, especially any games involving his son and daughter.

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The solution to America's race problem isn't written in black and white

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Longtime NFL tight end Benjamin Watson is among many athletes who took to social media to express grief over last week's national tragedies: the deaths of Alton Sterling, 37, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Philando Castile, 32, of Falcon Heights, Minnesota, at the hands of police, and the five police officers killed and seven wounded in Dallas by a sniper.

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The document explains how history is taught wrong. Though, it is taught everywhere history may not be part of the problem. It is today, the now. No change is being made and history is repeating.

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Single-perspective narratives do students a gross disservice.

Before the release of Selma, I wonder how many people ever reflected on President Lyndon B. Johnson's attitude toward the 1965 marches in Selma. I wonder if anybody thought that conventional wisdom afforded him either too much or too little credit for the Voting Rights Act. I imagine that Johnson's legacy was not on the average American's radar until Selma ripped it into the public consciousness.

The movie compelled many Americans to reconsider their perceptions of Johnson. The curators of his legacy lambasted the film for portraying the 35th president as a prickly antagonist to Martin Luther King Jr., asserting that the film unfairly reduces Johnson to an irascible politician who was forced by King into advancing the Voting Rights Act. Joseph A. Califano Jr., Johnson's top assistant for domestic affairs from 1965 to 1969, wrote in the Washington Post that Selma distorts these facts so considerably that the movie "should be ruled out this Christmas and during the ensuing awards seasons." Selma director Ava DuVernay fired back, tweeting that the "notion that Selma was LBJ's idea is jaw dropping."

How can subjects such as this remain dormant for long periods of time, only to be awakened by a critically acclaimed film? Califano is not the first, nor will he be the last, to mount a defense of a historical figure who is shortchanged by a movie. After the 2012 release of Lincoln, U.S. Representative Joe Courtney, a Democrat from Connecticut, wrote to Steven Spielberg to complain that the film erroneously showed two of his state's legislators voting against the amendment that abolished slavery. The 2012 release of the Margaret Thatcher biopic The Iron Lady prompted Rob Wilson, a member of parliament, to call for a debate in the British House of Commons, claiming that its director, Phyllida Lloyd, painted an "intrusive and unfair" picture of the former prime minister.
Currently, most students learn history as a set narrative-a process that reinforces the mistaken idea that the past can be synthesized into a single, standardized chronicle of several hundred pages.
These partisans have not been hiding; they are only drawn into the public realm when fear is evoked. It is this same anxiety that's emerged in Oklahoma because of the new Advanced Placement U.S. History guidelines. In a later interview, Califano captured the root of that anxiety: "Many, many of our young people get their view of history from films and television," he said. "It's important for people who make movies that claim to be historically accurate to be accurate." When the established memory of figures and events from the past is challenged, both the defenders and opponents of that memory will fight to influence the young.

The passion and urgency with which these battles are fought reflect the misguided way history is taught in schools. Currently, most students learn history as a set narrative-a process that reinforces the mistaken idea that the past can be synthesized into a single, standardized chronicle of several hundred pages. This teaching pretends that there is a uniform collective story, which is akin to saying everyone remembers events the same. Yet, history is anything but agreeable. It is not a collection of facts deemed to be "official" by scholars on high. It is a collection of historians exchanging different, often conflicting analyses. And rather than vainly seeking to transcend the inevitable clash of memories, American students would be better served by descending into the bog of conflict and learning the many "histories" that compose the American national story.

Califano is explicitly worried that future Americans will remember Lyndon B. Johnson differently than he does. Oklahoma state Representative Dan Fisher, a Republican, appears worried that future Americans will have a different understanding of their country's past than he does, too. Fisher recently introduced a bill that would have defunded AP U.S. History in the state, claiming that the College Board, which runs the AP program, published a revised framework that harps on "what is bad about America" and fails to teach "American exceptionalism." (The controversial effort garnered a good deal of criticism, and Fisher has since backtracked on the legislation.) The memories of Fisher, Califano, Courtney, and Wilson have clashed with the memories of others.

Perhaps Fisher offers the nation an opportunity to divorce, once and for all, memory from history. History may be an attempt to memorialize and preserve the past, but it is not memory; memories can serve as primary sources, but they do not stand alone as history. A history is essentially a collection of memories, analyzed and reduced into meaningful conclusions-but that collection depends on the memories chosen.

Memories make for a risky foundation: As events recede further into the past, the facts are distorted or augmented by entirely new details-something the NBC news anchor Brian Williams learned to devastating effect. An individual who marched across the Edmund Pettus Bridge probably remembers the events in Selma differently than someone who helped Johnson advance legislation in Washington. Both people construct unique memories while informing perfectly valid histories. Just as there is a plurality of memories, so, too, is there a plurality of histories.

Scholars who read a diverse set of historians who are all focused on the same specific period or event are engaging in historiography. I didn't encounter historiography until college, and it had the same effect on my opinion of textbooks that The Jungle had on consumers of pork. This approach exposes textbooks as nothing more than a compilation of histories that the authors deemed to be most relevant and useful.

In historiography, the barrier between historian and student is dropped, exposing a conflict-ridden landscape. A diplomatic historian approaches an event from the perspective of the most influential statesmen (who are most often white males), analyzing the context, motives, and consequences of their decisions. A cultural historian peels back the objects, sights, and sounds of a period to uncover humanity's underlying emotions and anxieties. A Marxist historian adopts the lens of class conflict to explain the progression of events. There are intellectual historians, social historians, and gender historians, among many others. Historians studying the same topic will draw different interpretations-sometimes radically so, depending on the sources they draw from. Fisher's bill captures high schools' inability to accept the absence of a single "history" and the co-existence of "histories."
History is anything but agreeable. It is not a collection of facts deemed to be "official" by scholars on high.
In a recent analysis for The Atlantic about the controversies surrounding the AP framework and other history curricula, Jacoba Urist points out that history is "about explaining and interpreting past events analytically." If students are really to learn and master these analytical tools, then it is absolutely essential that they read a diverse set of historians and learn how brilliant men and women who are scrutinizing the same topic can reach different conclusions. Rather than constructing a curriculum based on the muddled consensus of boards, legislatures, and think tanks, schools should teach students history through historiography. The shortcomings of one historian become apparent after reading the work of another one on the list. Will every perspective be afforded its due? Probably not. But the students will be better equipped to recognize weaknesses in an argument and resist the allure of a simplified national narrative.

Although, as Urist notes, the AP course is "designed to teach students to think like historians," my own experience in that class suggests that it fails to achieve that goal. The course's framework has always served as an outline of important concepts aiming to allow educators flexibility in how to teach; it makes no reference to historiographical conflicts. Historiography was an epiphany for me because I had never before come face-to-face with how historians think and reason-how they construct an argument, what sources animate that approach, and how their position responds to other historians.

When I took AP U.S. History, I jumbled these diverse histories into one indistinct narrative. Although the test involved open-ended essay questions, I was taught that graders were looking for a firm thesis-forcing students to adopt a side. The AP test also, unsurprisingly, rewards students who cite a wealth of supporting details. By the time I took the test in 2009, I was a master at "checking boxes," weighing political factors equally against those involving socioeconomics and ensuring that previously neglected populations like women and ethnic minorities received their due. I did not know that I was pulling ideas from different historiographical traditions. I still subscribed to the idea of a prevailing national narrative and served as an unwitting sponsor of synthesis, oblivious to the academic battles that made such synthesis impossible.

Few examples illustrate the relevance of disputed memory like the controversies surrounding the erection of the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial. Maya Lin's winning design contrasted with the rest of the capital, its black granite-devoid of ornamentation, save the names of every fallen soldier-clinging close to the earth rather than soaring above it. The design prompted a wave of opposition. Tom Carhart, a Pentagon lawyer and Vietnam War veteran, called the proposed memorial a " black gash of shame." "Black walls, the universal color of sorrow and dishonor. Hidden in a hole, as if in shame," he argued, encapsulating the revulsion felt by many Vietnam vets. "Is this really how America would memorialize our offering?"

Like Califano on Johnson and Fisher on American exceptionalism, Carhart was distressed that the lasting national memory of the Vietnam War might be self-loathing. No doubt mindful of the American public's hostility to soldiers during the war, Carhart likely found the proposed monument threatening. It was ultimately constructed as designed with a few concessions: A flagpole was built atop the wall and a statue of three American soldiers was added next to it. The memories had collided-and they continued to collide.

Although there may be an inclination to seek to establish order where there is chaos, that urge must be resisted in teaching history. Public controversies over memory are hardly new. Students must be prepared to confront divisiveness, not conditioned to shoehorn agreement into situations where none is possible. Historiography is potentially freeing for the next generation of students. When conflict is accepted rather than resisted, it becomes possible for different conceptions of American history to co-exist. There is no longer a need to appoint a victor.

More importantly, the historiographical approach avoids pursuing truth for the sake of satisfying a national myth. Fisher's demand for a curriculum that covers "American exceptionalism," a term that often risks masking the horrors of America's past with its greatest triumphs, hints at this risk. The country's founding fathers crafted some of the finest expressions of personal liberty and representative government the world has ever seen; many of them also held fellow humans in bondage. This paradox is only a problem if the goal is to view the founding fathers as faultless, perfect individuals. If multiple histories are embraced, no one needs to fear that one history will be lost.

Lionization and demonization are best left to the heroes and villains of fairy tales. History is not indoctrination. It is a wrestling match. For too long, the emphasis has been on pinning the opponent. It is time to shift the focus to the struggle itself. Conflict does not necessarily demand a resolution. Disagreements among highly educated, well-informed people will continue. Why should history ignore this reality? There is no better way to use the past to inform the present than by accepting the impossibility of a definitive history-and by ensuring that current students are equipped to grapple with the contested memories in their midst.

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Single-perspective narratives do students a gross disservice.

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Obama speaks on how he will not abandon the US and throw away all the progress America has somewhat made. There are a lot of efforts still to be made.

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I wrote my book for young people-as an invitation to bring about, through hard work, determination, and a big dose of imagination, an America that finally aligns with all that is best in us.

Pete Souza / The White House

For a month, Michelle and I slept late, ate leisurely dinners, went for long walks, swam in the ocean, took stock, replenished our friendship, rediscovered our love, and planned for a less eventful but hopefully no less satisfying second act. For me, that included writing my presidential memoirs. And by the time I sat down with a pen and yellow pad (I still like writing things out in longhand, finding that a computer gives even my roughest drafts too smooth a gloss and lends half-baked thoughts the mask of tidiness), I had a clear outline of a book in my head.

First and foremost, I hoped to give an honest rendering of my time in office-not just a historical record of key events that happened on my watch and important figures with whom I interacted but also an account of some of the political, economic, and cultural crosscurrents that helped determine the challenges my administration faced and the choices my team and I made in response. Where possible, I wanted to offer readers a sense of what it's like to be the president of the United States; I wanted to pull the curtain back a bit and remind people that, for all its power and pomp, the presidency is still just a job and our federal government is a human enterprise like any other, and the men and women who work in the White House experience the same daily mix of satisfaction, disappointment, office friction, screwups, and small triumphs as the rest of their fellow citizens. Finally, I wanted to tell a more personal story that might inspire young people considering a life of public service: how my career in politics really started with a search for a place to fit in, a way to explain the different strands of my mixed-up heritage, and how it was only by hitching my wagon to something larger than myself that I was ultimately able to locate a community and purpose for my life.

Listen to the preface as it appears in the book, read by President Obama:

Beyond the struggle to put words on a page, what I didn't fully anticipate was the way events would unfold during the more than three and a half years that have passed since that last flight on Air Force One. The country is in the grips of a global pandemic and an accompanying economic crisis, with more than 230,000 Americans dead, businesses shuttered, and millions of people out of work. Across the nation, people from all walks of life have poured into the streets to protest the deaths of unarmed Black men and women at the hands of the police. Perhaps most troubling of all, our democracy seems to be teetering on the brink of crisis-a crisis rooted in a fundamental contest between two opposing visions of what America is and what it should be; a crisis that has left the body politic divided, angry, and mistrustful, and has allowed for an ongoing breach of institutional norms, procedural safeguards, and the adherence to basic facts that both Republicans and Democrats once took for granted.

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Thank Goodness for the Independence of America's Judiciary
This contest is not new, of course. In many ways, it has defined the American experience. It's embedded in founding documents that could simultaneously proclaim all men equal and yet count a slave as three-fifths of a man. It finds expression in our earliest court opinions, as when the chief justice of the United States bluntly explains to Native Americans that their tribe's rights to convey property aren't enforceable, because the court of the conqueror has no capacity to recognize the just claims of the conquered. It's a contest that's been fought on the fields of Gettysburg and Appomattox but also in the halls of Congress; on a bridge in Selma, Alabama; across the vineyards of California; and down the streets of New York-a contest fought by soldiers but more often by union organizers, suffragists, Pullman porters, student leaders, waves of immigrants, and LGBTQ activists, armed with nothing more than picket signs, pamphlets, or a pair of marching shoes. At the heart of this long-running battle is a simple question: Do we care to match the reality of America to its ideals? If so, do we really believe that our notions of self-government and individual freedom, equality of opportunity and equality before the law, apply to everybody? Or are we instead committed, in practice if not in statute, to reserving those things for a privileged few?

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I'm Not Yet Ready to Abandon the Possibility of America

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I wrote my book for young people-as an invitation to bring about, through hard work, determination, and a big dose of imagination, an America that finally aligns with all that is best in us.

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In this article, they explain how immigrants and minorities have shaped this country that it is today. It is ridiculous to discriminate against ones who have done more than the Americans.

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The subject of immigration has always been a hot political topic in the United States. The DNA of our nation is comprised of people from many different lands, many who have fought and died to make this country great.

In their honor this Memorial Day, HISTORY is taking a journey back to the inception of the United States in the new, two-day, four-part docudrama "America: Promised Land," which tells the stories of the everyday heroes who helped transform this great nation.

"One of the things I find inspiring is that when you look at this special, you realize the great things that our ancestors accomplished," Mike Stiller, VP Development & Programming, HISTORY and executive producer of "America: Promised Land," told Fox News. "If you're Dutch, who knew that you saved New York City? If you're German, you were 10 percent of the Union Army and you helped keep the union together during the Revolutionary War."

From early days when the Puritans established the Massachusetts Bay Colony in a town they named Boston, through the telling of historical events such as the Dutch Fur Trade, the effect the creation of the postage stamp had on Irish immigrants, the California Gold Rush, Germans coming to the aid of the Union Army in vast numbers during the Civil War, and more, "America: Promised Land" looks at how immigration transformed America as different people brought different ideas and skills to the new country.

An interesting point of "America: Promised Land" is that, despite belief to the contrary, the reality of immigration is that it is not passive. The people who come to the U.S. tend to be risk takers. They tend to be people who are willing to take a journey, especially back in the early years of our nation when the voyage was just too arduous for them to return home, so they were making a once-in-a-lifetime trip to a new world.

Another case in point is that many of the immigrants are among the best and brightest, who in bringing new ideas to the new world fueled growth and developed new inventions, things such as mail-order catalogs, the Franklin Stove, the automatic flour mill, the cotton gin, the swivel chair, cupcakes and coffee percolators, to name a few.

"The number of patents taken out are disproportionally higher among immigrant groups," Stiller says.

Additionally, the docudrama looks at the struggles and hardships that some populations endured during their journey to America, such as the transport of people during the transatlantic slave trade, the illness that struck the Puritans cooped up on tiny ships, and Italian communities in New York being targeted by criminal organizations.

"Newly arrived immigrants had a lot to prove, and one of the reasons they came to the United States was the availability of jobs and the availability of opportunity," says Stiller.

Truth be told, the U.S. has received more immigrants since its inception than any other society, and even today it is still considered by those hoping to emigrate here the land where dreams can true.

"In the last hundred years alone, there's been a new American every 57 seconds," Stiller says. "Right now we're in a time when immigration is very controversial, but what you realize is immigration has always controversial. There's always an aspect of people wanting to come to the United States and people who are already here having angst about that, but one of the reasons they come is the dream, whether it's the dream of land, the dream of work, or it's the dream of religious freedom."

"America: Promised Land" premieres Monday, May 29 and Tuesday, May 30 on HISTORY.

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'America: Promised Land' reveals how immigrants made the country great

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The subject of immigration has always been a hot political topic in the United States. The DNA of our nation is comprised of people from many different lands, many who have fought and died to make this country great.

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In this article, it explains that MLK as well as others have done so much for this country to become the land of the free. However, we are going backwards and not forward, continuing the legacy of MLK and other activists.

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"I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land."

Just a day before his assassination on April 4th, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. spoke these words in his final speech, " I've Been to the Mountaintop."

Through peaceful protests beginning in the mid-1950s, he was able to drive monumental change in our society, and spread his vision of equality - despite being deemed an " outside agitator," by his opposition. And while we celebrate him today, we also recognize we still haven't reached his Promise Land.

In just 2020 alone, we've seen protests against police brutality and the over-policing of Black communities. We've lived through a pandemic that disproportionately affected Black and impoverished people. We've witnessed systemic racism's dark hold on our country, from our judicial system to our healthcare to our housing practices to our education system. It was a year that reopened wounds that truly never healed, and it showed us just how far from the Promised Land we are.

In the years since his speech, laws have been passed that enabled equal treatment for African Americans, but now more than ever it's glaringly obvious that those laws haven't changed the culture of racism - the culture that much of this country was founded on. We may no longer have segregated establishments and legalized racism, but both overt and covert racism still exists. And to truly understand how we can make Martin Luther King, Jr.'s dream a future reality, we have to understand how we got here.

With labor needs growing throughout the American colonies in 1619, white European settlers turned to enslaved Africans as a cheaper and more available means of labor. The first shipload of African captives arrived in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619. Read more.

Cuffe's petition ultimately failed, but it paved the way for the creation of a new Constitution in 1783, which granted equality for all Massachusetts citizens. Read more.

In 1808, Congress passed the act which "prohibits the importation of slaves into any port or place within the jurisdiction of the United States...from any foreign kingdom, place, or country." Read more.

The 13th amendment was the first explicit statement regarding slavery written in the U.S. Constitution. The amendment declares "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction." Read more.

While the 13th amendment gave written freedom to some 4 million slaves postwar, there was still a lot to be settled. Black Codes were introduced in 1866, which were created to hinder African American's freedom and required them to sign annual labor contracts. Read more.

On May 18, 1896, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its verdict in Plessy v. Ferguson, a case that represented the first major test of the meaning of the 14th Amendment's provision of full and equal citizenship to African Americans. Read more.

Following the Plessy v. Ferguson decision, "Jim Crow" laws were put in place at the local and state levels. These laws prevented African Americans from voting, getting and keeping a job, and the ability to get an education, to name a few. Read more.

One of the lesser known racial violence incidents, the Tulsa Race Massacre involved a white mob who attacked the Black Greenwood neighborhood in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Read more.

The Congress of Racial Equality, or CORE, was founded by Jonathan Farmer in 1942. CORE was one of the leading activist organizations during the beginnings of the civil rights movement. Read more.

In 1948, Harry Truman signed an executive order calling for the desegregation within the Armed Forces, marking the first time a U.S commander used an executive order to implement a civil rights policy. Read more.

The 1954 ruling of Brown v. Board Supreme Court case ruled that the segregation of children in schools based on skin color is unconstitutional. Read more.

Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat to a white man on a Montgomery bus in Alabama. This inspired a civil rights protest amongst the local black community in Montgomery, and is a cornerstone event in the civil rights movement. Read more.

Following the 1954 ruling of Brown v. Board of Education, nine black students enrolled and attended Central High school, a formerly all-white school, becoming known as the Little Rock Nine. Read more.

The 1960 ruling of Boynton v. Virginia declared the segregation of interstate travel such as bus terminals, restrooms, and other facilities unconstitutional. Read more.

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy signed an executive order requiring government contractors to hire more African American workers stating in an executive order, "take affirmative action to ensure that applicants are employed, and employees are treated during employment, without regard to their race, creed, color, or national origin." Read more.

Considered one of the crowning legislative movements in the civil rights movement, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 banned segregation in public places and banned employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. Read more.

Protesters, including Martin Luther King, Jr. marched from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama across a three-day period. Along the 54-mile march, protesters were attacked with nightsticks, tear gas, and whips by authorities and white vigilante groups. Read more.

The March to Selma showcased challenges faced by black voters, and the need for a national Voting Rights Act. In 1965, Lyndon B. Johnson passed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which aimed to remove state and local barriers that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote. Read more.

The 1968 ruling of Loving v. Virginia declared interracial marriage to be legal. This ruling is remembered annually on June 12th as Loving Day. Read more.

To circumvent racially discriminatory housing practices, The Fair Housing Act was passed in 1968. The Fair Housing Act is celebrated as one of the most significant achievements of the Civil Rights Movement. Read more.

Allan Bakke was unfairly denied admission twice to the medical school at the University of California at Davis because of the school's quota system. In his decision, Powell unknowingly shifted the meaning of affirmative action and inadvertently changed the ways colleges and universities recruit and enroll racial minorities. Read more.

In 2010, Chastity Jones received a job offer that was later rescinded after she refused to cut off her locks. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) filed a lawsuit, where two courts ruled the employer was not discriminating based on race and dismissed the case. Since then, numerous court cases have received mixed rulings, setting the precedent for natural hair to receive continued discrimination in the workplace. Read more.

The March Continues

This timeline is just a piece of our journey as a country thus far, and it's only been accomplished thanks to the efforts of Martin Luther King, Jr. and others like him. The activists, organizers, and leaders who aren't afraid of the work it takes to become better. With their help and our own resolve, we have to keep going - because we aren't where we're supposed to be. Not yet.

This is the uncomfortable truth of our nation. What we do from here is what defines our journey on the path to the Promised Land. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. left us with many great messages to guide us in his wake, but the message of his last address is perhaps the one we need to commit to heart today.

It'd be easy to simply point to the worst parts of our country and admit that we've fallen short, but that's not quite what his "I've Been to the Mountaintop," sermon urges us to do. Instead, Dr. King said, "The nation is sick, trouble is in the land, confusion all around. That's a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars."

This year, as we celebrate a civil rights hero, let's work together towards his Promise Land. Next year on this day, let's have accomplished the kind of change that would make Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. proud. There's real progress to be made. Let's make it to the stars.

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Why We're Still on the Road to MLK's "Promised Land" Over 50 Years Later

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"I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land." Just a day before his assassination on April 4th, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

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"Interactives, stories, and collections that go beyond the data". This is a statement showing that people can speak off of their own experiences and it's deeper than the data.

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At the Urban Institute, we examine how structural racism continues to disproportionately segregate communities of color from access to opportunity and upward mobility by making it more difficult for people of color to secure quality education, jobs, housing, healthcare, and equal treatment in the criminal justice system.

Throughout this country's history, the hallmarks of American democracy - opportunity, freedom, and prosperity - have been largely reserved for white people through the intentional exclusion and oppression of people of color. The deep racial and ethnic inequities that exist today are a direct result of structural racism: the historical and contemporary policies, practices, and norms that create and maintain white supremacy.

At the Urban Institute, we examine how structural racism continues to disproportionately segregate communities of color from access to opportunity and upward mobility by making it more difficult for people of color to secure quality education, jobs, housing, healthcare, and equal treatment in the criminal justice system.

For decades, our researchers have called attention to the role of race and racism in our public and private institutions and offered evidence-based solutions for how to address these inequities. Our scholars will play a crucial role as we continue to elevate the public discourse around race and racism in America.

Urban Next50 What would it take to overcome the damaging effects of structural racism and ensure a more equitable future?

Interim Project Director, Housing Crisis Research Collaborative

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At the Urban Institute, we examine how structural racism continues to disproportionately segregate communities of color from access to opportunity and upward mobility by making it more difficult for people of color to secure quality education, jobs, housing, healthcare, and equal treatment in the criminal justice system.

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Senator Tim Scott says "American is not a racist country". The information and data go against his claim because it shows that there are gaps and disparities relating to the justice system, the healthcare system, the world of work and the education system.

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His choice of words was categorical. When Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, responded to Joe Biden's speech to Congress last week, he said: "America is not a racist country."

But racial disparities exist in the US healthcare system, its criminal justice system, its educational system and its economic system. Those gaps are wide. They are persistent. And, in some cases, racial disparities have grown over time rather than narrowed.

Dataset after dataset, from non-partisan thinktanks to government sources, consistently show these racial disparities. And, unless one believes inherent, biological differences exist between racial groups in the US that would explain their differing success in the country (a belief that would, by the way, be racist), the only possible explanation for all this is structural racism.

These differences exist from the moment that a child is born in the US. One in every seven Black babies has a low birth weight compared with one in every 15 white babies, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data from 2019.

And the gaps remain. Black, Hispanic and Native American children are more likely to live in poverty than their white, Asian, Hawaiian or Pacific Islander counterparts, as census data from 2020 reveals.

By the time that graduation rolls around, just 74% of Native American or Alaska Native children will complete their public high school education, compared with 79% of Black children and 89% of white children. These statistics come from the US Department of Education, 2017-2018.

In adulthood too, racial discrimination affects just about every aspect of a person's life. The 2018 American Community Survey (conducted by the Census Bureau) reveals that people of color are most likely to work in low-paid frontline jobs.

And tragically, though not surprisingly, these are the jobs that often have the greatest exposure to the risks of Covid-19. Black people in the US are almost 1.9 times more likely to die from the disease than their white counterparts. For Hispanic or Latino people, the risk is 2.3 times higher, and for Native Americans it's 2.4 times higher than white people.

Crucially, these statistics can not be treated in isolation. Health is affected by poverty. Poverty affects educational outcomes. Education affects economic security and so it goes on.

Research has shown that Black babies are more likely to be born at a low birth weight because of the physical demands of the low-paid work that many of their mothers are doing. That low-paid work can make it harder to get health insurance too. While just 5% of white people in the US don't have health insurance, that share doubles for Black people (10%) and doubles again for Hispanic people (20%), according to the census. And of course, a lack of access to healthcare puts an individual at greater risk of dying from Covid-19.

To say that the US is not a racist country is to make a statement that exists outside of reality. It is a fantasy to which many people, especially white Americans, would like to cling.

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Tim Scott says 'America is not a racist country' - the data says otherwise | Mona Chalabi

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His choice of words was categorical. When Tim Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, responded to Joe Biden's speech to Congress last week, he said: "America is not a racist country." But racial disparities exist in the US healthcare system, its criminal justice system, its educational system and its economic system.

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Everyone disagrees on this controversial subject and it is a common question brought up today. This article explains how African American politicians are experiencing this as well and it is a worldwide problem.

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Greetings Recast family! It just keeps happening. Even with a renewed push for criminal justice reform on the federal level, Black and brown people continue to die at the hands of police with astonishing frequency. On Monday, loved ones laid to rest Andrew Brown Jr., who was killed by sheriff's deputies in Elizabeth City, N.C., last month. Police have yet to release the complete body camera footage. And on April 19, Mario Gonzalez died in the Los Angeles area. In this case, police released the video. Gonzalez did not seem to pose a threat to officers, one of whom appears to use a knee to pin him down for several minutes. Gonzalez gasps for air - and later dies. Is there any end in sight? Let's jump in.
"America is not a racist country."

That's the phrase du jour parroted by the nation's highest elected officials, thanks to South Carolina's Tim Scott.
Now, any politician facing the cameras has to answer the question: Is America a racist country?
And when answering that question, inexplicably, the nation's top two elected officials and the dean of South Carolina's congressional delegation all follow the Republican's script.

"No, I don't think America is a racist country," Vice President Kamala Harris told ABC News, adding, "but we also do have to speak truth about the history of racism in our country and its existence today."

Then there's President Joe Biden: "No, I don't think the American people are racist," Biden said last week. "But I think after 400 years African Americans have been left in a position where they're so far behind the eight ball in terms of education, health, in terms of opportunity."

And right on cue, there was Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), the House Majority Whip: "We should stop arguing about whether or not this is a racist country. It is not," , adding if it were, then neither former President Obama or Harris would have been elected to their respective offices.

None of it makes sense.

The election of two biracial politicians to the highest offices in the land doesn't eradicate the racial biases that permeate so many facets of American life - from education, to the criminal justice system, to health disparities to access to capital.
Even Scott admitted in an interview over the weekend that he's been stopped by police for Driving While Black, by his count, 18 times.
So with all that, how is it that nearly three quarters of Americans agreed the guilty verdict of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was the correct outcome, but America's top officials seem incapable of holding a nuanced conversation about the role systemic racism plays in our country?

Or are Democrats siding with Scott for pragmatic reasons?

The party is desperate not to squander the momentum from the Chauvin verdict as it pushes for a federal police reform overhaul. Leaders know that with slim margins in the House and a 50-50 tie in the Senate, any reform has to go through Scott.

And if the filibuster remains in place, the only way to achieve that is to keep him engaged - and remain hopeful that he can persuade nine other Republicans to join him.

We'll keep tabs to see how it all plays out. But one thing is clear: A robust discussion of American-style racism, at least among current elected officials, is not happening anytime soon.

All the best,
The Recast Team

Power dynamics are changing. With The Recast, you'll get a twice-weekly breakdown of how race and identity are the DNA of American politics and policy. Stay tuned for fresh analysis, scoops and new voices.

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A newly released poll shows pretty stark divides between Black and white adults on policing.

The Benenson Strategy Group survey found that a majority of Americans don't consider police highly integral to public safety. They'd like to redirect funds to other areas, like youth recreation and deescalation training.

But Black adults were more likely than their white counterparts to say it's "very important" police are filmed by bystanders, use body cameras and held more accountable for excessive force.

By comparison, white adults were more likely than Black respondents to say it's "very important" police should be well-funded and armed.

President Biden urged lawmakers to pass police reform by the anniversary of George Floyd's murder later this month. Less than 24 hours later, Scott, Rep. Karen Bass (D-Calif.), and Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and others were negotiating behind closed doors.

While both sides remain optimistic a deal can get done, those reading the tea leaves on police reform talks are less bullish. Monica Bell teaches at Yale and has written extensively on sociology, law and policing. Isaiah McKinnon is a former chief of the Detroit Police Department and also formerly served as that city's deputy mayor.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
THE RECAST: What did you make of all these politicians declaring America was not racist? Do you think Democrats wanted to provide cover so talks could continue on police reform? Or is it that if you are a high-ranking elected official, you simply can't come out and say America is racist?

MONICA BELL: I think both are true. Across the spectrum, saying that America is racist is read by people saying that Americans are racist. We don't have a good way in our society of thinking about the difference between structural and systemic racism and individual racism. This is the big problem. So all of them have to separate themselves from that narrative. And so, yeah, I think it plays two roles. [The other] is to try to get Tim Scott to move and to provide cover on some of the police reform stuff.

THE RECAST: Is police reform possible without a change in qualified immunity? Certainly progressives and activists that are trying to push lawmakers on this and likely won't be satisfied with anything less than altering qualified immunity.

ISAIAH MCKINNON: I don't know if this Congress is going to approve removing qualified immunity. I think that the unions and others will be so powerful they won't let that go.

MONICA BELL : I understand why for some progressives qualified immunity is a sticking point. I would just encourage us to not fetishize qualified immunity and to instead come back with a bolder agenda when the politics are ready for it.

In May 2020, Intel announced ambitions for the next decade to accelerate the integration of responsible, inclusive, and sustainable practices and innovative approaches in its operations and supply chain, across the technology industry, and beyond. This week, Intel released its 2020-21 Corporate Responsibility Report which provides detail on Intel's 2030 RISE strategy and goals, including progress made since they were launched a year ago. Read more at https://www.intel.com/responsibility

THE RECAST: Do you think the politics of this moment that it's possible to get Scott and nine other Republicans to sign on to a bill to pass a police overhaul bill?

MONICA BELL: I think it is possible. There is a narrative that is robust right now that to support police reform is the same thing as supporting and being a part of Black Lives Matter, which is the same thing as hating the police. I think Tim Scott needs to work to try to separate out those views [for his colleagues]. And the real question is whether enough Republican senators have the room to be able to adopt [that] sort of message.

ISAIAH MCKINNON: I don't think there's a meaningful path. I think if they were serious, they would look at having a national standard of law enforcement agencies.

I hope that this is a true calling for change in America. But when we see people saying there's no racism ... it'll slide back under the covers and nothing will happen.

The fastest-growing and yet, the most poorly represented: Meet the Asian American and Pacific Islander population.

Our very own Rishika Dugyala got the exclusive on a new report from the Reflective Democracy Campaign. It reveals that - as of mid-2020 - AAPI people account for just 0.9 percent of all elected leaders, but make up 6.1 percent of the U.S. population.

Even among states with high Asian concentrations (think New York, California, Nevada), representation drops off. There's only one state that can claim its share of AAPI elected leaders is nearly equivalent to its population: Hawaii.

When it comes to the criminal justice sector, the lack of AAPI representation is ... particularly stark. Overpolicing and deportation are key issues for Native Hawaiians, Pacific Islanders and Southeast Asians - but by mid-2020, just 0.24 percent of elected prosecutors and 0.07 percent of county sheriffs identified as AAPI.

Given ongoing conversations of police reform, the rise of AAPI political sway and the rise of pandemic-related hate crimes, the report is a step toward more data transparency on a much-discussed and wide-ranging demographic group, said Brenda Choresi Carter, the Reflective Democracy Campaign's director.

"Voters, regardless of party identification, really want to see reflective leadership," Choresi Carter said. "Political power has been concentrated in the hands of white men in the United States since the very beginning. And I think we are seeing the limitations of that."
Read more here.
Groups Push Biden Administration on "Good Data" - Nearly a dozen racial justice advocacy groups (including the NAACP, the Asian and Pacific Islander American Health Forum and the National Conference of American Indians) sent a proposal to the White House on Monday. They want the Biden administration to form an Equitable Data Working Group to adopt standard definitions of race/ethnicity across federal agencies, encourage community involvement in data collection and mandate transparency at levels of government.

Without this data, they argue, "localities, states and even the federal government are less able and less accountable for responding appropriately to the full scope of the problem."

What's the play? Dems Confused on Voting Rights Strategy - Constrained by both the filibuster rules in a 50-50 split Senate and disagreement within their own ranks, Democrats set out to chart a path forward on voting rights legislation. POLITICO's Burgess Everett and Marianne LeVine report some are questioning the strategy moving forward.

A McAuliffe Win Means Thwarting History - Terry McAuliffe is opening a wide lead in his quest to be the first governor to win a second term in Virginia since 1973. POLITICO's Maya King reports: "Democratic primary voters in Virginia have prioritized pragmatism over racial representation." In other words, if any other Democrat were to topple McAuliffe for the party's nomination - in particular two who many feel have the chops to become the nation's first Black female governor - time is running out to make a move. The party primary is June 8.

Caitlyn Weighs In - Former Olympian and reality-TV star Caitlyn Jenner raised some eyebrows over the weekend for her stance on transgender girls participating in amateur sports. POLITICO's Quint Forgey reports her remarks come less than two weeks after Jenner announced her candidacy to challenge California's Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. She's not backing down in the face of controversy, either.

On this day 60 years ago, May 4, 1961, the original Freedom Riders - 13 white and Black activists from the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) and Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC ) departed Washington, D.C. The group, which included the young John Lewis, was on a mission to test whether states in the Jim Crow South were adhering to the Boynton v. Virginia Supreme Court decision that ruled segregation of busing terminals and other ports of interstate transportation was unconstitutional.

Among those "tests" the Freedom Riders would conduct were to use whites-only waiting rooms and lunch counters, and for whites and Blacks to sit together on the bus as it drove through the South.

Intel has a long history of transparency, driving global impact and value through corporate responsibility as well as focusing on integrating environmental, social and governance strategies across its business. In May 2020, the company announced ambitionsfor the next decade to accelerate the integration of responsible, inclusive, and sustainable practices and innovative approaches in its operations and supply chain, across the technology industry, and beyond. This week, Intel released its 2020-21 Corporate Responsibility Report which provides detail on this strategy, including progress made over the past year. For example, Intel increased renewable energy use from 71% to 82% and conserved 7.1 billion gallons of water in 2020. Additionally, it launched the Alliance for Global Inclusion to drive collective impact in four key areas: leadership representation, inclusive language, inclusive product development, and STEM readiness in underserved communities. Initial members include Intel, Dell Technologies, Nasdaq, NTT DATA, and Snap Inc. Learn more at https://www.intel.com/responsibility

The Freedom Rides grew in size and at one point had more than 400 participants. Angry white mobs attacked them with rocks and bricks. They even firebombed a bus.

In Rock Hill, S.C., Lewis and two others were beaten for entering a whites-only waiting room. Nearly half a century later, one of the white attackers, Elwin Wilson, apologized to Lewis.

The American Constitution Society is holding an event exploring "our Constitution's establishment of a racial caste system." The panel, "Founding Failures: Reckoning with Our Constitution's Generational Impacts on Health and Well-Being," starts at 3 p.m. ET today. Sign up here.

The Atlantic is out with its second installment of a multiyear project called " Inheritance," which focuses on Black contributions to shaping American culture. Two features explore the future of Black history and what lessons can be learned from the nation's first Black inhabitants.

We recommended Jhumpa Lahiri's new book a few weeks ago - but we're back to recommend this profile of the iconic author by BuzzFeed's Scaachi Koul.

Check out this project from NBC News with generations of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders talking about the discrimination they've experienced. It attaches faces to names, to stories - and is well worth the read.

For this month's issue of Harper's Bazaar, Yo-Yo Ma curated a playlist themed around beauty. It's an eclectic mix of classical (Pablo Casals playing Bach), country (Rhiannon Giddens) and classic (Stevie Wonder). Worth a listen, for sure.

We're big fans of Lion Babe, the musical duo helmed by Jillian Hervey (daughter of Vanessa Williams) and Lucas Goodman. (So good when you're on deadline and you need some musical inspiration to bang things out.) Their latest song, "Frida Kahlo," is one big ol' dose of happy. So is the video.

Finally, we know the week *just* started but... ugh Zoom.

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Greetings Recast family! It just keeps happening. Even with a renewed push for criminal justice reform on the federal level, Black and brown people continue to die at the hands of police with astonishing frequency. On Monday, loved ones laid to rest Andrew Brown Jr., who was killed by sheriff's deputies in Elizabeth City, N.C., last month.