10 Things You Might’ve Missed
*The views expressed in these article roundups are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Who We Are Project. This content is shared for educational purposes to encourage thoughtful dialogue and does not necessarily constitute an endorsement.*
1. Hundred year old Black grave site in Virginia being moved to make way for industrial park | The Grio
The mostly unidentified remains of approximately 275 Black tenant farmers and their families are being exhumed and reburied to make way for a production facility, causing the sharecropper’s descendants to have many emotions.
One descendant stated that “It just seems that 100 or so odd years after their death, there’s still no rest.”
2. Where were enslaved Africans taken from? The answer could be hidden in their bones. | National Geographic
Tracing ancestral history is an incredibly difficult task for descendants of formerly enslaved African-Americans, but after more than a decade of scientific development in identifying sub-Saharan isotopes, genetic testing may start to make it easier.
3. The Dire Consequences of Science Without DEI | Mother Jones
Fostering diversity in science isn’t a new concept and it isn’t a dangerous one either. In fact, research shows that more diversity on a team of scientists can “enhance creativity, innovation, and productivity.” With recent executive orders though, agencies such as the NIH, National Science Foundation, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been thrown into chaos and the potential ramifications are vast.
4. Moms for Liberty Is Very Excited for the DOE’s New Snitch Line | Mother Jones
Moms for Liberty is publicly cheering the Department of Education’s “End DEI” portal we mentioned in our article round-up last week, and while the organization’s co-founder was mentioned in the DOE’s press release, neither the department or Moms for Liberty will confirm how the right-wing group may be related to setting up the portal.
5. More than half of books banned last year featured LGBTQ characters or people of color, report finds | NBC News
PEN America released a report that last year there were more than 10,000 instances of districts or schools removing books from their curriculums and classrooms. Of the more than 4,000 banned titles 36% featured characters or people of color, 25% included LGBTQ characters or people, and “one in 10 of the banned titles featured characters or people with a physical and/or learning or developmental disability.”
6. Trump Brags He “Brought Back Free Speech” Hours After Calling to Ban “Illegal” Protests | The Intercept
On Tuesday, President Trump had many bold claims in his joint address to Congress, one of which being his administration had “stopped all government censorship and brought back free speech in America.” Just hours earlier though he threatened that schools that allow “illegal” protests would have their funding cut.
What exactly are “illegal” protests? See our latest post on Instagram to find out.
7. Missouri GOP’s Effort to Take Over St. Louis Police Hearkens Back to Civil War | ProPublica
Missouri’s Republican governor and GOP-led legislature are fighting to take over the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, a move that hasn’t happened just before the Civil War started. Opponents argue that just as it was used back then, this is an attempt to suppress Black political power and is part of a larger pattern to overrule voters’ will.
8. Neo-Nazis targeted a majority-Black town. Locals launched an armed watch | Washington Post
The citizens of Cincinnati suburb Lincoln Heights have organized a neighborhood watch after feeling abandoned by police officers’ lack of action following a Neo-Nazi rally that intimidated their community last month.
9. Broken Promises: Black Land and the New Fight For Reparations | Mother Jones
Karcheik Sims-Alvarado, assistant professor of Africana studies at Morehouse College, and the late activist Roy Jenkins discuss the research their task force has unearthed on reparations and discuss just exactly what is owed.
10. I took a leap of faith—and it led me in search of history’s lost slave ships | National Geographic
National Geographic explorer Tara Roberts reveals the journey of quitting her job, learning how to dive, and joining an amazing group of Black conservationists working to discover the underwater wrecks of slave ships around the world.