The NYPD Formally Apologizes for the 1969 Stonewall Raid: RaceAhead
Here’s your week in review, in haiku.
1.
Baby Trump doo doo
doo doo doo doo, baby Trumps
doo doo doo doo doo
2.
#KuToo’s a no go,
Straight Pride’s a no show, Biden
3.
U.S. and Russia
4.
Microplastics on
for bad animals
5.
Kalief: A backpack of books,
a life of promise
Wishing you a healthy and promising weekend.
On Point
The NYPD formally apologizes for the Stonewall raid The 1969 raid on the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in NYC’s Greenwich Village began as an attempt to enforce a law that barred establishments from serving alcohol to gay people. But it was really a longstanding excuse for targeting and harassment. In the wee hours of June 28, when police stormed in with billy clubs flying, the patrons had had enough. What followed was an uprising that is credited with kicking off the LGBTQ rights movement. “What happened should not have happened. The actions taken by the NYPD were wrong, plain and simple,” New York Police Department Commissioner James P. O’Neill said yesterday at a briefing on security measures in advance of the 50th anniversary of the raid. “The actions and the laws were discriminatory and oppressive, and for that, I apologize.” NBC News
A courtside shoving raises questions and ire Mark Stevens, Golden State Warriors minority owner and wealthy venture capitalist, has been banned from attending NBA games and Warriors-related events for one year and fined $500,000 for shoving and cursing at Kyle Lowry of the Toronto Raptors after the player dove for a loose ball during an NBA Finals game on Wednesday. “The fans have a place; we love our fans,” Lowry told ESPN. “But fans like that shouldn’t be allowed to be in there, because it’s not right. I can’t do nothing to protect myself.” Once identified, Stevens publicly apologized. Some are calling for a lifetime ban, and LeBron James is calling for additional penalties, but I’m not sure. Did Stevens have an absentee father? This thug stuff always starts at home. Reuters
The Obamas move into podcasting Higher Ground, the production company backed by former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, has signed a deal with Spotify Technology to make podcasts covering “wide-ranging topics,” Spotify said in an announcement yesterday. The Higher Ground podcasts will “amplify voices that are too often ignored or silenced altogether,” Michelle Obama said in a statement. The move expands on Higher Ground’s media aspirations; they signed a deal with Netflix to produce television shows and movies in May 2018. Fortune
The ongoing trouble with YouTube and Steven Crowder Crowder is an alt-right star on YouTube who’s been posting problematic videos for years. On Tuesday, YouTube issued a public response to Carlos Maza, host of the Vox series Strikethrough, after the journalist had posted a mashup of video clips of Crowder’s ongoing racist and homophobic assaults directed at him. In addition to being called, “lispy queer,” “little queer,” and “the gay Vox sprite,” Maza says Crowder has encouraged his followers to harass him as well. First, YouTube tweeted that while the platform takes “allegations of harassment very seriously,” it would not remove Crowder’s channel because “the videos as posted don’t violate our policies.” After an uproar, the company agreed to de-monetize Crowder’s channel by removing his capability to run ads. Now Tucker Carlson is upset and stepping in to fight for Crowder’s rights. The Verge
On Background
The Academy Awards recognizes Native American actor Wes Studi’s contribution to film Wes Studi will be receiving an honorary Oscar, the first Native American to be awarded in the Academy’s history. The Cherokee American has been in over 30 films, including Dances with Wolves, the Last of the Mohicans, and Avatar. Studi, on Twitter, said he was “deeply honored and humbled” to be receiving the award. The Academy described Studi as “portraying strong Native American characters with poignancy and authenticity.” The recognition of Studi’s work is a shift for the Academy, which has been roundly criticized for its lack of diversity (#OscarsSoWhite). It’s been a long time coming: In 1973, Marlon Brando had Sacheen Littlefeather receive his best actor Oscar in his place in a statement against the film industry’s historical mistreatment of Native Americans. CNN
Upwork CEO makes the case for dropping college degree requirements for jobs Upwork, a freelancing website, has stopped requiring college degrees for its job applicants. “Colleges are pricing themselves out of reach for many Americans,” writes CEO Stephane Kasriel in Fortune. “As a result, businesses are in danger of being walled off from huge sections of America’s talent pool.” While college degrees may be necessary for specific fields—such as in A.I.—skills that make applicants successful need not be acquired from traditional four-year higher education. There’s no correlation between “a degree from one of the nation’s elite schools and high performance,” says Kasriel. Upwork isn’t the only company updating its job postings: Companies like Apple and IBM have also removed college requirements from some offered jobs. Fortune
The human cost of the Hyde Amendment Former vice president and current presidential front runner Joe Biden has reversed his long-held support of the Hyde Amendment, the 1976 legislation which prevents anyone from funding their abortion through Medicaid. The amendment became a trap for low-income people, and forced them to seek lower cost and often dangerous treatment from bad providers. Below is the tragic story of Rosie Jimenez, a Mexican American single mother, determined to turn her life around. Her death from complications from a back-alley abortion in 1977 is believed to be the first caused by the restrictions put in place by the Hyde Amendment. “She was going to college to have a better life, that was her goal,” says her daughter Monique, now 42. “I know that she saw my grandparents struggle, and she wanted to provide me with a better life.” Texas Observer
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