Here’s your week in review, in haiku.
1.
A power pose for
the ages; role model now:
Megan Rapinoe
2.
What sanctuary
will be found for the children?
An ICE storm cometh
3.
Gorka bears his teeth,
Ryan shows his hand, Trump flips
Twitter the big bird
4.
World: “Life sucks.” Look! Here’s
Mattel: “You’re welcome.”
5.
May all the vile men,
young light know justice.
Happy weekend. Take extra good care of yourself, if you can.
On Point
Tropical Storm Barry spoils ICE raids in parts of Louisiana and Mississippi New the Orleans city officials confirmed the suspension with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as the city prepares to deal with flooding and other severe weather conditions ahead of the storm. “In consideration of these circumstances, ICE has temporarily suspended its routine targeted immigration enforcement activities in the storm-impacted area,” said an ICE spokesperson, who also confirmed that ICE agents would not be raiding shelters. Nola.com
Chicago mayor says no to ICE Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced this week that the city will not allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement to have access to Chicago Police Department’s databases ahead of the planned deportation raids on Sunday. “They’re not going to be facilitating or otherwise providing any assistance in any raids ― whether it’s traffic stops [or] additional support. … We have also cut off ICE from any access from any CPD databases and that will remain permanent,” she said. Huffington Post
If we want more diversity in teaching, we’re going to have to talk about student loan debt A new report released this week by the Center for American Progress finds that while lack of professional support and low pay are burdensome for all teachers, but black and Latinx teachers are disproportionately hobbled by student loan debt. Black teachers leave the profession at higher numbers than others, even one presidential contender suggested forgiving the debts of minority teachers might be a solution. It would make a difference to people like Corinne Lyons, a Detroit-area language arts teacher who loves her job. “I’m a social worker, counselor, lawyer and confidant for my students. I play all of those roles... And can’t afford my loan payments.” Washington Post
Denny’s under fire for failing to protect black women from racist customers Three black women were minding their own business as they waited for an early breakfast at a Lansing, Mich.-area Denny’s. Four men dressed in biker attire began harassing them repeatedly with racial slurs. After one asked the manager to intervene, he loudly berated the black women, then defended the white men's right to "free speech." Then some random white woman inserted herself into the situation and threw a punch at one of the black women, but the manager called the cops on the black women, who he referred to as “colored” in the police report… are you getting all this? The women have filed a complaint with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, and I look forward to the day when every Denny’s in the country is closed for anti-bias training. Slate
On Background
We don’t know what we think we know That is the unmistakable takeaway from this wonderful essay by Daniel Yon, a cognitive neuroscientist and experimental psychologist at Birkbeck, University of London. While we walk through the world with what we believe is a clear understanding of our experiences and our judgments therein, in fact, our biology fails us. “We experience the world outside our heads through the veil of our sensory systems…Though these circuits are remarkably complex, the sensory wetware of our brain possesses the weaknesses common to many biological systems: the wiring is not perfect, transmission is leaky, and the system is plagued by noise – much like how the crackle of a poorly tuned radio masks the real transmission.” And yet, even if we were finely tuned machines, we still wouldn’t be able to sense much beyond shadows. Click through for an in-depth lesson in brain science that helps explain our fundamental human bias: Our brains filter out sensory input that doesn’t align with what we don’t expect. Aeon
A dating dilemma of race and self I’ll let you know upfront that this poignant first-person account washes out into a good place, but it starts in a difficult one. The best-ever first date ground to a halt when one of the smitten participants admitted she wasn’t attracted to men of Asian descent. The twist: She was also of Asian descent. “It’s not that I don’t like Asian things. I love all Asian food, even stinky tofu,” she told Andrew Lee. “It’s just that I’ve never really been attracted to Asian men. I think it’s because there weren’t a lot of Asians in my small Texas town. All the Asian men I knew were either my friends’ dads or like nerdy brothers to me.” Andrew Lee, the Asian man in question, breaks down the conversation that had to happen next, and it’s instructive. (And weird side note, Lee is an investor at Initialized Capital, the venture firm co-founded by Alexis Ohanian.) New York Times
Black Lives and time travel Can you stop the inevitable? See You Yesterday was a short film directed by Stefon Bristol that became a festival favorite two seasons ago. It tells the story of two devastated teens, C.J Walker (get it?) And Sebastian Thomas, who use a home-made time machine to try to save C.J.’s brother from being shot and killed by a police officer. Now, it’s a feature-length film on Netflix. The original short was made possible by a grant from the Spike Lee Fellowship Fund and produced at the NYU, Tisch School of the Arts. The film was written by Bristol and Fredrica Bailey. It stars Eden Duncan-Smith, Dante Crichlow and Michael J. Fox. Netflix
Quote
“American institutions rest solely on good citizenship. They were created by people who had a background of self-government. New arrivals should be limited to our capacity to absorb them into the ranks of good citizenship. America must be kept American. For this purpose, it is necessary to continue a policy of restricted immigration… I am convinced that our present economic and social conditions warrant a limitation of those to be admitted. We should find additional safety in a law requiring the immediate registration of all aliens. Those who do not want to be partakers of the American spirit ought not to settle in America.”
— U.S. President Coolidge, Calvin, first message to Congress, 1923
