'Winning the office in 1989, David Dinkins (1927-2020) earned the glare of national attention not only as the mayor of one of the country's most important cities, but also as that city's first black mayor. It was a difficult time for the New York City. Race relations were fractured, the economy was struggling, and many neighborhoods were gripped by a crack epidemic. In a conversation with NPR's M
'With his new book of poetry about race in America, Morning Edition poet-in-residence Kwame Alexander hopes to "shine a little light for the world." In the book, Light For The World To See: A Thousand Words On Race And Hope,
'Historian Jack Schneider and journalist Jennifer Berkshire explore the right's systematic, decades-long attack on public schools - through the defunding of districts and demoralizing students, educators and parents - in partnership with a neoliberal Democratic Party willing to sell out children and workers for the same libertarian elites. Jack and Jennifer are authors of the book A Wolf at the S
'In this episode Cite Black Women podcast host Christen Smith sits down with theoretical physicist and feminist theorist Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein to discuss Black feminist physics, the intersections between the matrix of violence against Black women and science, her radical Black feminist upbringing and her forthcoming book, The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey Into Dark Matter, Spacetime, & Drea
'Director Steve McQueen is best known for his Best Picture-winning film, 12 Years a Slave , and his 2018 crime drama, Widows . But for his latest project, the British filmmaker decided to return home to direct not just one but five movies that make up the anthology series, Small Axe . Together, the films tell mostly true stories of Black British life from the 1960s to the 1980s. The first part in
Michael Carson/The New Press 'Hookworm is an intestinal parasite often associated with poor sewage treatment and the developing world. It was long thought to have been eradicated from the United States — until a 2017 study revealed otherwise. According to the study, more than one in three people in Alabama's Lowndes County tested positive for hookworm infection. Hookworm spreads when people walk
'Access to fresh food in North Minneapolis has been a struggle for decades. Members of Appetite for Change are growing food to protect themselves from the health effects of both racism and the pandemic.' -- All Things Considered
' Danielle Fuentes Morgan and W. Kamau Bell are in conversation in support of Professor Morgan's book Laughing to Keep From Dying: African American Satire in the Twenty-First Centur y . In the book Morgan argues that by subverting comedy's rules and expectations, African American satire promotes social justice by connecting laughter with ethical beliefs in a revolutionary way. Dr. Morgan is an as
'Professor Magdalena Zaborowska discusses aspects of James Baldwin ’s life in Istanbul by revisiting her Duke University Press book, James Baldwin’s Turkish Decade (2009). She outlines phases in Baldwin’s life that he chose based on homophobia and racism in the United States. Therefore, an alternative family of friends was formed through exploring exile in Turkey. Baldwin primarily lived in a sma
' Chef Marcus Samuelsson 's new book, The Rise , is his recipe for a national conversation on the contributions of Black chefs and Black cooking to the American table. Mark Whitaker also talks food history with chef and restaurateur Edouardo Jordan and writer Jessica B. Harris .' -- CBS Sunday Morning
'The Last Shall Be First: The JCR Records Story, Vol. 1 is a collection of gospel music first recorded in 1970s Memphis and released for the first time after years spent tracking down master tapes.'
' Paul Holdengräber is joined by Los Angeles-based artist Ramsess on episode 118 of The Quarantine Tapes . Ramsess speaks about the early days of his art career in Leimert Park, telling stories about the jazz musicians and other artists that surrounded him. He also discusses how he believes that people are becoming more and more aware of the necessity of knowing history, which has long been a cor
'Writers Daniel José Older and Joan Morgan have a candid conversation about grief, creativity, process and productivity during the pandemic and the healing value of stillness.' -- Artist Relief
Usually, unless you have a paid subscription to Education Week, you’re able to access a few free articles each month and then everything is behind a paywall. However, all articles are free to everyone for the next two weeks! At that time, Ed Week will unveil an entirely new website that, believe me, is going to look pretty neat. Unfortunately, for Ed Week writers like me, that great redesign is a
Please consider responding to this upcoming question-of-the-week. You can respond the ways suggested in the text box, leave a comment on this post, or send me a note .
Here’s the announcement: NASA, in partnership with Future Engineers, launched the Artemis Moon Pod Essay Contest . The contest, which is open to all (public, private, and home school) students in grades K-12, asks participants to imagine they are leading a one-week expedition to the Moon’s South Pole. In the essay, students will need to describe to NASA what (and who) they would bring to help mak
Every year, I ask readers of this blog to share – either in the comments section, via my contact form , on Twitter or on Instagram – the title and author of their favorite education-related book, along with one or two sentences explaining why they chose it. It’s that time again! Please share them with me no later than December 15th. Then, I’ll compile them in a post to share. With luck, I’ll publ
‘Standing Up for What is Right’: Teaching in the Aftermath of the Presidential Election is the headline of my latest Education Week Teacher column. Four teachers explain how they are handling this year’s presidential election in their classrooms, including by asking key questions and creating opportunities for small-group discussions. Here are some excerpts:
Last week, I published a post titled This Is The Question So Many Districts Need To Asked – & Challenged On – Right Now… , where I recommended districts stop putting so much time and resources into preparing for the
