Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Between the World and Me: Book club and discussion. To listen to the Audio Book Club discussion of Between the World and Me, click the arrow on the player below. This month Slate critics Jamelle Bouie, Meghan O’Rourke, and Katy Waldman discuss Ta-Nehisi Coates’ searing book Between the World and Me. Does it properly belong to the genre of polemic, memoir, poetry, journalism, or something else? For more Slate coverage of Between the World and Me, check out Jack Hamilton’s review and Isaac Chotiner’s interview with Coates. Next month the Audio Book Club will dig into Andy Weir’s The Martian. Visit our Audio Book Club archive page for a complete list of the more than 75 books we’ve discussed over the years. Podcast produced by Abdul Rufus and Andy Bowers. What Happened in Ferguson? What Happened on the Anniversary of the Michael Brown’s Death? Demonstrations commemorating the killing of Michael Brown one year ago ended Sunday night when an 18-year-old was shot and critically wounded by the police. The shooting was on West Florissant Avenue, where other violence, fires and looting occurred last year. Main area of demonstrations Sunday night Previous areas of fires, violence and looting Ferguson Police Department Site of Michael Brown’s death Site of Sunday’s shooting Previous areas of violence What Events Led to the Shooting of Michael Brown? Canfield Green Apartments Location of Mr. body Ferguson Market and Liquor Location of Mr. Brown’s body Ferguson Market 11:54 a.m. 12:01 p.m. 12:02 p.m. There is an altercation between Officer Wilson and Mr. Mr. What Evidence Was Presented About an Altercation at the Police Vehicle? Several witnesses reported seeing an altercation in the S.U.V. between Officer Wilson and Mr. Examiners found Mr. Office of the St. Some witnesses said Mr. Mr. Fires Mr.
Inside the Mind of Poetry | The Smart Set One must have a mind of winter. The greatest lines in poetry are infinitely quotable while having no definite meaning. What is a mind of winter, and why must one have one? I believe that to read poetry, one must have a mind of poetry. Is this “negative capability”? Negative capability, as described by Keats, is rather delightfully poetic in itself, a form of imitative fallacy in criticism, a mental onomatopoeia. There are probably people who go through life with a permanent mind of poetry. But I don’t want to read it. Actually, let’s follow this metaphor. So let’s talk about the difference between poetry and prose: a difference so often belabored but rarely to much satisfaction. Here’s what I take to be the spirit of the statement: Poetry pays more attention to language; poetry foregrounds, through careful choices, rhythm and music and all those lovely side effects of language and syntax. Defining poetry in such a way has repercussions.
Next time someone tells you "all lives matter," show them this cartoon One of the most common responses to "Black Lives Matter" is "all lives matter." But that response misses the point, as this great cartoon from Kris Straub at Chainsawsuit demonstrates: Kris Straub/Chainsawsuit The point of Black Lives Matter isn't to suggest that black lives should be or are more important than all other lives, but instead that black people's lives are relatively undervalued in the US (and more likely to be ended by police), and the country needs to recognize that inequity to bring an end to it. Reddit user GeekAesthete made this point in a thread explaining why the phrase "all lives matter" is offensive: Imagine that you're sitting down to dinner with your family, and while everyone else gets a serving of the meal, you don't get any. Straub's cartoon echoes this point: If a house is burning down, you're obviously going to focus on putting out the fire instead of watering a house that's just fine. Vox Featured Video
Is Everyone a Little Bit Racist? Let’s start with what we don’t know: the precise circumstances under which a white police officer in Ferguson, Mo., shot dead an unarmed black teenager named Michael Brown. But here’s what evidence does strongly suggest: Young black men in America suffer from widespread racism and stereotyping, by all society — including African-Americans themselves. Research in the last couple of decades suggests that the problem is not so much overt racists. Rather, the larger problem is a broad swath of people who consider themselves enlightened, who intellectually believe in racial equality, who deplore discrimination, yet who harbor unconscious attitudes that result in discriminatory policies and behavior. Scholars have found that blacks and Hispanics treated by doctors for a broken leg received pain medication significantly less often than white patients with the same injury. I’m typical. “There’s a whole culture that promotes this idea of aggressive young black men,” Correll notes.
Next time someone says racism isn't real, show them this 3-minute video If systemic racism isn't real, why are black people nearly four times more likely to be arrested for marijuana than their white counterparts despite using and selling drugs at similar rates, about twice as likely to be pulled over while driving, or half as likely to get a call back after they mail their resume to an employer? The video above, by Brave New Films, breaks down these stats and more in a takedown of the idea that systemic racism isn't a real problem in America. When looking at racial disparities in police shootings, the focus typically falls on cops and the criminal justice system as a whole. Behind these disparities isn't necessarily explicit racism. Most people are at least a little racist, even if they don't know it Mladen Antonov/AFP via Getty Images In the same study, researchers interviewed 264 mostly white, female college students and found that they tended to perceive black children ages 10 and older as "significantly less innocent" than their white counterparts.
10 must-watch films for perspective on civil rights The struggle for racial equality is vividly depicted in these 10 films that incorporate the civil rights movement. On the list are movies made by both black and white filmmakers, and they represent a variety of genres — crime thriller, documentary, biography, family drama, inspirational sports film and classic literary adaptation. Here, in alphabetical order, are our picks for movies that offer a well-rounded view of the movement and its times. 1. The Butler (2013): The civil rights movement is presented memorably through the juxtaposed stories of the title character (Forest Whitaker), a White House butler who served under eight presidents, and his activist son (David Oyelowo). The performances are deeply affecting, and the era's dramatic sociopolitical changes are depicted in an often-electrifying fashion. 2. RELATED: Oscar proved Sidney Poitier was second to none 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Claudia Puig is the film critic for USA TODAY. Read or Share this story:
Slavery in the United States The slave market in Atlanta, Georgia, 1864 (Library of Congress) When the North American continent was first colonized by Europeans, the land was vast, the work was harsh, and there was a severe shortage of labor. Men and women were needed to work the land. White bond servants, paying their passage across the ocean from Europe through indentured labor, eased but did not solve the problem. Early in the seventeenth century, a Dutch ship loaded with African slaves introduced a solution—and a new problem—to the New World. Slaves were most economical on large farms where labor-intensive cash crops, such as tobacco, could be grown. By the end of the American Revolution, slavery had proven unprofitable in the North and was dying out. Cotton replaced tobacco as the South’s main cash crop and slavery became profitable again. Torn between the economic benefits of slavery and the moral and constitutional issues it raised, white Southerners grew more and more defensive of the institution.